


Peter Parker & The Avengers

by The_Maze_Writer



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Family Dinners, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Funerals, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Missions Gone Wrong, Not all happy endings, Notice the "Creator has chosen not to use Archive Warning tag", Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Tony Stark, Sleepy Peter Parker, Teen Romance, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Training
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24066730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Maze_Writer/pseuds/The_Maze_Writer
Summary: Wanna see a 1v1 of Peter VS Natasha? Parental Tony panic? Bucky vs Sam + his wide array of arm magnets? Peter scaring some Avengers from the ceiling? A lot of grief and guilt complexes?? You've come to the right place!Peter Parker (predominately) centered one-shots. Requests OPEN! Our boy Peter Parker and some fluffy, domestic, angsty one-shots. Featuring many of our favorite Avengers.Crossposted on Fanfiction.net
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Peter Parker, Clint Barton & Peter Parker, James "Bucky" Barnes & Peter Parker, James "Bucky" Barnes & Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Michelle Jones, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Thor, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 40
Kudos: 429





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I would love one-shot suggestions. Potentially two or three shots! Peter Parker/Spiderman centric is probably the way to go but I could also do Tony Stark/Ironman. I have no issues integrating any characters you would like to see.
> 
> This first chapter is more to show you my style of writing than anything. Hope you enjoy :)

Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!

"Are you serious Mr. Stark? Am I really gonna meet everyone?" Peter was practically vibrating with excitement, standing in front of his mentor with wide eyes and a big goofy grin that threatened to break his face in two. "Like Captain America everyone? ALL the Avengers?"

Tony's eyes closed without his permission in exasperated amusement. A small smile made the corners of his mouth twitch. Sometimes he forgot just how young Peter was.

"Yeah kid, ALL the Avengers. They want to meet you. Or rather, they DEMAND it. They've been on my ass about it since Germany. After the truce, there was just no reason to deny them anymore." He scratched the back of his neck absentmindedly, letting the excitement radiating off the kid in front of him seep into his bones. A shock of excitement raced through his already shot nerves. "Meeting time is at 7pm, but we'll see who actually turns up on time. Wouldn't shock me if they came early, sounds like they want to get to know the new member of their team."

Wrong thing to say.

Peter started hopping up and down on the spot, a hand crammed into his mouth as he (rather crudely), attempted to stop the squeal bubbling in his chest.

"They view ME as a member of the TEAM?!"

Tony half chuckled and half groaned, trying to hide his own snort of amusement.

"Kid, if you pee yourself on my floor then you're never coming back here", he threatened halfheartedly. Turning on his heel, he started towards his lab, knowing he had about two hours to actually get some work done. He hid a grin at Peter's garbled sputtering and squeaks of protest.

"M-Mr S-Stark, I'm not-"

"Sure kid. Have fun on Patrol."

…

Swinging around the city of Queens was a relaxing hobby for Peter. The wind rushed past his ears in a whispered roar, propelling him forward as he flipped effortlessly midair. Letting out a small whoop, he swung from the last building on the right to the last one on the left and let go, doing a somersault and landing in a crouch on a roof overlooking the darkening skies of the city. He straightened, grinning widely.

"Whattca got for me Karin?"

"My scanners detect a bike robbery about 300 yards left of your location, Peter."

Her voice in his ear was smooth and sounded like she was smiling. Could AI's smile? Probably not Peter relented, but somehow it always seemed like Karin had emotions of her own.

With a "thwip" of his web shooters he was off, swinging above the light traffic below, their headlights lighting up the graying air around them.

It didn't take long for Peter to spot the bike thief, awkwardly pedaling away from the rather distressed teenager on the sidewalk. Yelling a "Don't worry!" behind him at the teen Spiderman dropped, freefalling 20 feet before catching himself on a tree branch and using the momentum to pull himself forward, landing a couple of feet in front of the rapidly pedaling villain.

"Didn't your mom teach you to not take things that don't belong to you?" he quipped, before extending his arm and catching the front of the handlebars as they came hurtling towards him. Absorbing the shock easily, he eyed the criminal who had frozen, shocked by the sudden appearance of the masked vigilante.

"Cat got your tongue dude? I know I'm pretty breathtaking but usually people have moved by this point."

The man, judging by the 8 o'clock shadow and dark eyebags was late 20's by Peter's guess. He blinked and spluttered.

"Aren't you that spider guy? From Youtube?"

"Spiderman", Peter groaned. "Seriously, you think I'd picked an easy enough name." With a flick of his wrist a spurt of web fluid attached itself to the criminal and with another flick of the wrist the perpetrator was flung into a pile of garbage bags. Another spurt of web-fluid had him trapped there, wiggling like a fish on land.

"Stealing bikes is a pretty stinky thing to do. Now you literally stink. Have fun with the police dude!" And with that Peter picked up the fallen bike and lightly jogged the 30 feet back to the slightly-shocked teen still standing on the sidewalk.

"People suck. Here's your bike man. Have a good night!" He heard a mumbled thanks as he shot into the sky, his enhanced hearing picking up the police sirens in the distance.

"Peter, Tony Stark has asked me to remind you that you have 30 minutes before you need to be back at the compound. I suggest you start heading back now."

Oh, Shoot! In the rush of adrenaline, Peter had forgotten what he was distracting himself from. Quickly, he turned northeast and started propelling himself forward, flying across the streets.

Butterflies pelted the sides of his stomach, fluttering into his throat as he swallowed down the lump that was steadily rising. Stark had cleared the weekend with May already, telling her that he wanted Peter to do some different, more involved, intern-y things. Actually, Peter wasn't sure exactly what Mr. Stark had said. Only that he had winked at Peter as he lied smoothly to May over the phone. Peter hadn't known what he was up to, assuming that Mr. Stark wanted to do a lot of training that weekend. His excitement at that was enormous, and he was already bouncing on his toes as his mentor hung up the phone and turned to his young mentee. They weren't training. He was introducing Peter to the Avengers.

As the thought flicked through his mind again he couldn't stop himself somersaulting mid-air, releasing the excitement in the only way he knew how.

"ETA Karin?"

"If you continue travelling at the speed you are currently my estimation is that you will arrive in 22 minutes."

…

As the lights of Tony Stark's impressive mansion expanded and brightened in his mind's eye so did the excitement in his chest. He flipped from the last tree and soared through the air, landing with a thunk on the window-wall. He crouched on the window with his sticky appendages like a small red and blue ninja. As usual, the window next to him opened, obviously expecting his arrival. Peter wiggled through and rolled forward across the carpet then flipped up and twisted so he landed on his feet.

Thumps were echoing in his ears and as he lifted his head he realized it wasn't his own heart. Of course it wasn't, the thumps were not in harmony, they played like a middle-school percussion group, out of time and loud to his enhanced ears in the otherwise quiet room.

Sitting/standing around the room were the Avengers, with varied expressions on their faces. Leading was amusement, followed by surprise and even shock. Captain America, the first person to register in Peter's mind, leaned against the doorframe and looked at him with interest.

Peter, who had just realized he had flipped into a room with the freaking Avengers in it squeaked and flushed red under the mask.

"H-hi! Um, sorry about that. Didn't mean to come in like that. That was probably strange huh? I mean, the first impression you have of me since Germany is me crawling through the window! Wow I'm such a big fan of everyone here! Urm, sorry again. Uh…" He stopped, face on fire as he tried to control his rambelling.

Slightly hesitant now, he took off his mask, curly hair flopping onto his forehead.

"Uh, hey! I-I-I'm Peter."

Before now, only Tony, Rodney, and Happy had known his identity. Now they all knew what he looked like. He pushed down the programmed panic that instinctively rose. It's okay Peter, they can keep a secret.

Half of the room's mouths had dropped. Tony rose from the armchair and came to stand behind Peter, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. The kid was radiating nerves and the room had yet to speak. The air was tense and thick with awkwardness.

"Is that, is that a kid?" Clint asked, reluctantly peeling his eyes from Peter and looking up at Tony with disbelief.

Wow, HAWKEYE was talking about him!

Wait…..

Peter searched the room again and noticed an alarming amount of shock, even accusation in the eyes of the other Avengers. They were glaring at Tony, not him, but even still a wave of panic hit him. He wanted to diffuse the situation so they could all hang out and be cool! He didn't expect things to go south so quickly….

"I'm fifteen, sixteen in a couple of months," he replied defensively.

"Tony…" Captain America suddenly spoke, seemingly disappointed and sad at the same time. "You brought a CHILD to Germany?" A thought struck him, and his eyes widened as he looked to Peter, alarm written across his face. "Is this the kid I dropped the airplane loader on?"

Peter coughed awkwardly.

"That would be me sir…."

Steve sat down heavily on one of the couches and groaned, guilt flashing over his features.

"But I'm fine Mr. Captain America sir! Honestly! I have super-strength and super-healing, so even if you had hurt me I would be fine now anyway!" Peter tried to smile brightly.

Glares continued to stab holes into the figure behind him and then Tony spoke, with all the conviction of a man who knew he was going to jail and had accepted it.

"Peter was on my radar a while before Germany. He had been running around the city, stopping crime in a onesie. He needed an upgrade and I needed the element of surprise." He squeezed Peter's shoulder, as if to comfort. "Not my finest moment, but I did everything I damn well could to keep him safe. I told him not to directly fight with anyone, and had his suit filled with top-of-the-line safety features. The kid has heart, he wants to make a difference, serve the greater good, y'know, all that good superhero stuff". Tony waved a hand in the air, then let it drop to his side.

"Surprise factor or not, he's a kid. I mean Christ Tony!" Natasha spoke, full lips pursed.

"Hey, I may be in high school but I'm not helpless! It's not mister Stark's fault, he didn't force me too, I wanted to help! I was given these powers for a reason, I have to use them for good! It's my responsibility. And, um, Mr. Captain America sir, at that point I thought I had to use them against you and your team. I, um, sorry." He apologized awkwardly.

Cap waved him off and looked around him, at the other Avengers who sat tensely, then back at Tony.

Tony spoke up again, squeezing Peter's shoulders. "Alright. You all wanted to meet Peter and here he is. Don't write him off because he's young and scrawny". He narrowly dodged an elbow to the ribs and continued. "Let's all just chill out for a second and have some Pizza. Sound good?"

To Peter's relief shoulders relaxed and the Avengers were looking at him with smiles and interest. He guessed he should have figured that his age would be a shock to the others. Most of them were way older than he was. Tony retrieved about 12 stacked boxes of Pizza from the kitchen and dumped them in the center of the room.

As boxes were opened and pizza shared out the Hulk, (the HULK!) smiled at him and patted the seat next to him. His nervous excitement returning, Peter sat down grinning, trying to hold back the long spiel of how BIG of a fan he was, playing it cool.

"So, kid. Tell us a bit about yourself," Dr. Banner asked, smiling gently at the young boy.

"Uh, ok, Dr. Banner sir."

"Call me Bruce".

Peter smiled again. Wow! First name basis!

"Umm, yeah! So, my name is Peter Parker, I'm 15, and I go to a science school. When I was on a field trip I got bit by a radioactive spider, so now I'm spiderman! After school I go out and fight for the little guy, y'know? Protect my hometown." His cheeks burned and he looked down.

"Yeah?" Captain America spoke, looking down at Peter with developing interest. "You said you had super strength and healing, what else can you do?"

Peter brightened immediately.

"Oh! Well, I'm also superfast, acrobatic, my hands and feet are sticky, and I have some cool webshooter things! I made the web fluid myself, it works really well for swinging around, tying up bad guys…." he trailed off.

"You MADE the web fluid? Must be a smart kid", Steve praised, and Peter went red. "Is there anything else?"

"Urm, well there's my spidey sense! It lets me know when there's danger, it comes in useful a lot!" Peter exclaimed excitedly. He looked around the room in a sort of wonder, praying this wasn't a dream.

Wanda and Vision were on an opposing couch, Captain America still leaning on the wall and smiling at him. Natasha was in an armchair giving him an intense look, Thor on another couch cocking his head, and Hawkeye sitting cross legged on the floor. He was sitting next to the Hulk and Tony Stark!

"Nice, kid." Cap nodded in approval, and there was a chorus of hums as the rest of the room seemed to agree. Slowly, the room dispersed into multiple quiet conversations, splitting the room. Peter finally got his hands on some pizza, going through a whole box on his own. Periodically some of the newcomers would look at him and give him a slight smile, and he got the feeling he had made a good impression. Nice!

Now the sky had gone well and truly black, the moon slipping from behind the clouds to cast a pale light on the trees outside. As Peter looked around again he smiled contentedly. The warmth of the air, hum of conversation, and his full belly were starting to make his eyes droop. He leaned against Mr. Stark, surprised when he felt his mentor slip an arm around his shoulders.

"They like you," his mentor muttered into his ear.

"Mmmmm", he hummed, and his eyes slipped closed. After a few minutes his body had become lax against Tony's, curled against his side.

Conversation around them didn't break but the loss of consciousness wasn't lost of the other Avengers, who couldn't help noticing how young the boy looked, and how he seemed to gravitate towards Tony. He seemed comfortable, like he trusted Tony with all the world. The protective arm that Tony had around him wasn't lost on them either. If Peter trusted Tony, then they would have to too.


	2. Momma & Baby Spider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hint: Never tell Natasha Romanoff you're bored

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Tell me what you think of the chapters!
> 
> Prompt: Baby Spider & Momma Spider

Peter's normal habitat was not the ceiling.

Lately, it was 50% his apartment back in Queens and 50% the compound itself. The ceiling….. that was a new one. Even for Tony Stark, who had promptly spit out his boiling coffee as a brunette, curly head popped down from the ceiling directly in front of him.

"Hey, Mr. Stark!" was the cheery greeting.

"Peter, _get down,"_ came the grumpy reply.

Peter left him alone after that.

Boredom _literally_ made him crawl up the walls, testing his sticky limbs with new heights and different materials. Almost disappointingly, he stuck to everything he put his mind to. Boooooorrrrring.

He tested several internal theories, such as walking upside down and the bizarre task of looking like he using monkey bars without there actually being any monkey bars. (Don't ask, it entailed him sticking one hand flat of the ceiling and letting the rest of his limbs hang loose, using momentum to swing himself forward, alternating sticky hands.) ((To his delight, it did actually work.))

As he crawled along the ceiling of the hallway on his stomach like a snake (again, don't ask,) he heard steps approaching and froze.

Clint, Rhodey, and Happy were chatting calmly as they approached the entrance to the hallway. Peter heard Rhodey laugh quietly and then an idea popped into his head. Grinning, he waited, stomach pressed flat against the cool drywall. The three passed the door frame and made it all of three steps before a war-cry sounded and wild-headed boy dropped down from the ceiling, landing in a crouch in front of them.

Startled cries rang from the group, Happy clutched at his heart and Clint unconsciously reached for a set of bow and arrows that weren't there. When they realized there was no threat and it was in fact just Peter _freaking_ Parker, protests were made and Happy tried to grab for his collar. Laughing, Peter hopped lightly (and _quickly,_ god that kid was fast) up the walls and clung to the ceiling again. He scampered down the opposite end of the hall, calling out delightedly.

"This is one spider you _can't_ swat!"

Groans sounded behind him and he laughed again. Tony had seen him crawl all over the walls before, the rest of the Avengers had not. _Fresh meat._

It was like his own personal initiation he decided. A way to show off and a source of personal amusement. They couldn't catch him, he could stick to anything, and his enhanced hearing would allow him to creep up on anyone. _This is going to be a FUN summer_ he decided, he could-

"Taking the "Spiderman" thing a little literally aren't you kid?"

Peter shrieked and fell off the ceiling.

Natasha loomed above him, red hair swinging by her face as she smirked down at him. Suddenly abashed he stood up, rubbing the elbow he had fallen on.

"H-Hey Miss Black Window ma'am. Just bored is all. " That kid, always stuttering when he was nervous. It was kind of endearing, she had to admit.

" _Natasha_ , Peter." Her eyes held a glint that was making Peter nervous, despite the half-smile on her face.

"W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Follow me."

He did, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste, spider reflexes forgotten. She sauntered in front of him, leading him across the main floor and to the elevators.

"FRIDAY? To the gym please"

"Of course Natasha." As the doors slid closed behind them confusion rose in Peter, wary but innocent.

"Why-"

"When's the last time you did some training Peter?" Natasha interrupted smoothly, quirking an eyebrow at him. He didn't have time to respond before the doors pinged open and she stepped into the bright lights of the gym, motioning him to follow. He did, not unlike how a dog would to its owner. She pointed to a side room.

"In."

Now he was staring at her dumbly, completely confounded.

"We're training, right? Do I need my suit? What are we using, treadmills? Weights?" Natasha shook her head, humor draining from her face.

"No. We're going head to head. No suits, no tricks. Just you and me. Now, in." She shoved him forward and panic sparked in Peter's chest. She was a trained _assassin_ , he was a 15-year-old kid from Queens. He did what she asked as the door clicked shut behind them, leaving him trapped and claustrophobic. He backed away from her, twisting his head to search his surroundings. Dimmer lighting, low ceilings. A black box, essentially.

Panic. Thick and choking. Nowhere to run, no web-shooters, no Karin, no nothing. Just him and an assassin.

"Um, Natasha? Did I do something to upset you or something? Because if I did I'm sorry." She smiled, but it was not calming at all to Peter. She looked like a tiger, baring its fangs.

"Prove yourself."

"W-what?"

"You can fight with Stark's gizmos. That's fine until you land yourself in some real danger. If you're caught without the suit, without your little inventions, would you survive? From what we saw at the airport you don't fight when you can avoid it. You web and leave. That'll get you killed one day."

"What do you want me to do? How do I prove myself?"

"Hit me." Then she lunged.

She hit her mark and his head snapped to the left, pain shooting through his cheekbone. She didn't wait for him to recover, bringing her right knee up to render him breathless. He gasped as his own knee dropped to the floor. Her foot came up to kick him across the face but this time he regained his senses and rolled out of the way, flipping backward and finding his footing again. His eyes darted for an escape but he found none.

She leaped towards him again without hesitation and he tried to jump to the ceiling. Too low. She hooked an arm around his waist and slammed his back to the ground. He gasped, pain shooting up his spine as he narrowly escaped a black boot to the teeth. He didn't miss the swift kick to the ribs. He groaned, clutching them protectively as he rose to his feet.

"I-"

Her elbow hit his nose and warm blood began running down his face. He let out a small yelp of surprise and lifted a hand to his nose, smearing blood on his cheeks. He looked from the blood on his hand to her face searchingly, wearing an expression that reminded her of a kicked puppy. She paused, regarding him.

"You don't need to look at me like that. Fight back."

"I-I can't! I'll hurt you! I have enhanced strength, I-"

"They always say that", she remarked grimly. "But somehow I'm always ok in the end".

He didn't even have time to respond before she lunged for his throat. He was knocked back to the floor, instinctively grabbing onto her wrists as her fingers curled around his throat.

Panic and black spots exploded in his mind.

His spidey sense was on fire now, burning the back of his neck with the knowledge of _she's killing you, you're dying_.

Terror.

He grappled uselessly before managing to get a knee up and using it to spin his body to the right, making Natasha hissed in surprise as she suddenly had to figure out her footing. Her hands were still on his throat and he used her confusion against her, pulling the knee up again to slam into her side. She released him in shock and he brought his arm back and aimed for her head wildly. His forearm connected with her temple and she was knocked to the ground, cussing. She brought her hands up to her head, groaning.

Peter felt his own fingers on his throat, feeling the welts her fingers had left rising. He choked on a breath and used his (thankfully working) legs to push himself as far away from her as possible. He knew some of his enhanced strength had gone into that hit and she likely now had a headache. As his back hit the wall he grunted and her eyes snapped to him, lips curling.

Oh _shit._

Now she looked ready for the kill. Despite the burning in his throat and lungs, he got to his feet. She lunged again, long fingernails scraping down the sides of his face and gouging lines as she used her momentum to push him back into the wall, slamming his head into the cement behind them.

His head swam, eyes rolling back for a second. His senses were on _fire._ He lifted his arm and clipped her right across the jaw, running on instinct. As she stumbled, head snapping back, he lunged, flipping his body and landing a hard kick to her side that sent her sprawling. She hit the floor hard, sliding across the cold flooring until she connected with the wall on the other end of the room, none too gently either.

He watched, blood dripping, head on fire, as she got back to her feet slowly, grimacing. When she looked up at him she smiled slightly. He tensed, but nothing came.

"Nice punch." She spoke. "With more training, you're going to get the hang of this. Even holding back you hold your own." She hit a button on her watch and the arena door slid open. Peter eyed her warily but she just smiled again, gently. "I'm not going to hit you. We're done training for today."

He waited but his spidey sense was quiet. He took a step forward but couldn't help the stumble as he exited. His knees felt like buckling beneath him. The brighter lights of the gym burned his eyes and his chest still ached from lack of oxygen. His face felt sticky.

"FRIDAY, dim the lights to 40%" Natasha spoke softly. The lights dimmed and his headache lessened slightly. He sat down heavily on the floor, back to the wall.

"Holy _shit."_

She chuckled at his weak curse, watching as he maneuvered his way to the floor. The blood from his nose had stopped flowing, instead content to run down his face and paint lines down his throat, disappearing under his (now ruined) shirt. Adrenaline was leaving his body and his eyes closed, his brain content to run on autopilot as he gasped for those missed breaths.

Natasha was not used to feeling conflicted but suddenly she found herself slightly remorseful at the scene. She wanted to help him become a better fighter, to teach him how to defend himself. She was teaching him the only way she knew how, the way she herself had learned. But seeing the boy on the floor, bleeding, bruised, and cut up, she felt a wave of guilt and sadness. She really did like this kid.

Sighing quietly she retrieved the first aid box from the corner of the room and made her way back to Peter, who was lying half passed out on the cold plastic floor. Ripping open a corner of plastic with her teeth she removed as antiseptic soaked cloth from the packet. Gently she started wiping down Peter's face and neck. She pulled his shirt over his head, ignoring the mumbled groans and weak swats. After wiping him clean of blood she grabbed a needle, making quick and light work of the deep scratches on his face.

She knew he had fast healing, it didn't surprise her that most of his injuries were already showing signs of recovery. Wincing, she took a gentle hold of his nose and realigned it, shushing his yelp of pain. His eyes opened and then closed again as she shushed him, running a hand through his hair almost maternally.

"Hush, don't want that healing crooked now do we," she crooned. Finger marks on his neck were fading as his breaths came in easier, bruises were blooming on his ribs. Bruised, not broken.

She stood, surveying her handiwork, then sighed as she leaned back over and lifted him into her arms. He was tall and lanky but her upper body held surprising strength and made graceful work of his light figure. He groaned loudly at the sudden shift but she shushed him again, murmuring reassurances in Russian that she knew he wouldn't understand but hoped were still calming.

"That 'as fun," he mumbled and she snorted lightly.

She carried him to the guest bedroom down the hall and set him down as gently as she could. She pulled the covers up around him and left silently. He had an adrenaline crash to work through and she needed to wash the dried blood off her hands.

" _I'm going to make this baby spider a force to be reckoned with,"_ she thought to herself, and she knew she would. Black Widow had never failed at anything before and she certainly wasn't going to start now.

_Spiders have to stick together._


	3. Kidnapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Protective Peter Parker: Don't fuck with people I love
> 
> In which Peter realizes he is Spiderman with or without that mask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. So, this chapter was from a detailed prompt by a user on ffn.net. The full explanation as to why this didn't turn out how I wanted it to is on there. 
> 
> TLDR; This chapter is not my best work. The quote didn't really work out, but I'm posted it anyways. 
> 
> I PROMISE the chapters get better from here. I PROMISE.

Aunt May and Uncle Ben had taught him well. He had impeccable manners, was polite to all, and remained chivalrous no matter what. His formal and hesitant approach to authority got him affectionate groans and chuckles from everyone in Avengers tower. He had been told multiple times by everyone in the tower to drop the sir, ma'am, mister, and miss.

"Call us by our goddamn names kid!" was Tony's constant complaint.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark!" was always his immediate response.

He had become very good at dodging swipes that came for his head.

Peter's immediate family had died when he was very small. His uncle died a few years later. His aunt had been his rock for so long that he forgot most people had more than 1 adult figure in their life. When he came to Avengers Tower he was suddenly bombarded with adult figures to look up to. Tony and Pepper acted so much like his parents. Tony had his stoic but steady paternal ways, spending long nights with Peter in the lab and going behind his back to implement safety protocols to protect him. Pepper peppered him (yes, pun intended) with love and affection, providing a safe and warm set of arms for him to be wrapped up in.

Natasha acted like a big sister. A terrifying, dangerous older sister that would kick his ass in the training arena then give him a wild-eyed grin and help him sneak up and scare another unsuspecting Avenger. She had taken him under her wing completely, sharing his love of acrobatic flair and grace. Amongst the others were a mix of uncles (a lot of uncles,) aunts, and close friends. If this was what being a team was like, he was all in. They would do anything for him, and he sure as hell would do anything for them.

Three nights a week he stayed at the compound; training, learning and creating with the other Avengers. The other four he stayed at May's, leaving the house to build lego sets with Ned or swing around Queens. There was even an occasional "hang-out" with MJ. He had been texting both Ned and MJ daily, keeping them filled in on his life and asking about theirs. He was pretty sure MJ liked him back! It was the best summer ever, Peter decided.

Tonight he was heading back from Ned's, whistling softly to himself as he watched the sun set over the skyscrapers. His mind was happy and preoccupied. The air was warm and thick with the perfume of flowers, tingled only with the typical city smog. The sounds of the city droned into one monotonous hum, broken only by a sudden click by his ear that made him jump.

"Don't say a word," a voice hissed, the cold metal of a gun digging into the back of his spine. He shut his mouth and allowed himself to be shoved forward by the faceless person. He was pushed down an alleyway and through a flaking, chipped door. Despite the gun, he was calm. He didn't want to agitate the gun, but as soon as the person had put their guard down a little, as soon as they underestimated him, he could escape. Stupid mugger.

That plan died on the spot as the door slid closed behind him and his eyes adjusted enough to see. By a quick scan, he knew the place they were in was old, grimy, and musty. That was unimportant. What was important was the giant box approximately 20 ft by 20 ft sitting in the corner of the warehouse. It was also old, by looking through the glass he could see broken wires hanging from the roof and puddles of water covering the floor. All sides of the box were painted black cement except for one, which stood floor to ceiling and was clear glass. The only visible door looked like it was made for a psychiatric ward. It was thick and padded with a key-code pad. Inside the box were arguable the 4 most important women in his life. He stood agape, captor forgotten. What the f-

He noticed his aunt first. May had a small cut on her forehead that was leaking blood but she was looking at him so worriedly that suddenly he felt like he was the one bleeding, not the other way around.

Natasha sat on a wooden chair with a completely blank expression on her face. Her eyes were two icy black lakes. Her eyes bore into his, jaw twitching as she clenched it. Pepper was standing behind MJ with her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. She looked exhausted and disheveled. When she caught his eyes he could have sworn she sighed, eyes closing. She reopened them and gave him a wary look. Don't do anything stupid. MJ seemed to be leaning into Pepper's touch. Her dark hair curled around her face in rings and he could see her biting her lip, despite the fact that she wasn't looking at him.

His eyes lingered on her but he ripped them away, bringing his focus back to his surroundings.

He forced the panic down. He was enhanced and mentally gifted. Calm down, Parker. Think like Spiderman. Bring your personal feelings into it and you'll get sloppy.

Peter was more emotional then he was objective. Spiderman was a hero, he saved people. He-

Damn it Peter get a grip!

He gripped the sides of his head then let his hands dropped. No mask to hide behind now Parker.

Come on Spiderman!

"The room's soundproof, by the way." Peter whirled around, coming face to face with a tall blonde woman, swathed in black. An ugly scar curled around her left ear. Her voice was like broken glass, scraping his ears. He thought fast.

"What the hell's going on? Why am I here? Who are these people?"

She smirked, and it sent ice down his spine.

"Nice try. I've seen you in papers. Peter Parker right? Intern at Stark industries?" Grinning like a Cheshire cat she pointed behind him at the captives. "Let me see if I get this right. That one there? That's your aunt. The scary one is your Avenger friend, who-" she turned to him and frowned darkly, "put up quite the fight." She touched her ear gingerly. "I had to subdue her in rather a different way," she grinned sadistically, touching the taser gun at her waist. Her gaze returned back to the window and she continued. "Blondie is Stark's wife, and ringlets over there is your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," he snapped. Shit.

The strange woman grinned. "Right, so you do know them. Not nice to lie Pete."

The nickname made him shiver.

"What the hell is happening? You've gathered them for…. what reason exactly? Family reunion?" It was a weak quip and he knew it, but his confidence was dwindling without the mask and he was desperately trying to seem annoyed rather than terrified. "I don't think they're having a party in there, they look a bit bashed up actually."

She laughed coldly, upper lip curling into a barely concealed snarl.

"That was rather the point, Spiderman." He recoiled harshly, working to keep the shock off his face. She knew him. Knew him as more than just an overheard name. She had to. There was no way…

His head snapped to her face and he regarded her, taking her features in fully.  
"You work for Stark Industries." It wasn't a question. She's on the inside. That's the only way she could know. Must've been high up to have access to that kind of information. Happy's going to have to get a new-

"You're Spiderman. You were responsible for putting my sisters in jail. Remember that? Your failed mission? The Trungo Triplets? But you only reprimanded two?" He heard her teeth grit under her misleading smile."My sisters aren't as smart as me. I told them to leave the scene as soon as the first alarms went off. I knew you would come."

"Eh, that's a 66.66% success rate. That's a passing grade at least," he fought to keep his face completely blank. No mask. Don't let her see how anything she says affects you. Time to man up, Parker.

She snarled at him, fiddling with her gun. "Imagine having to tell your Momma that 66% of her family is in jail. Maybe you can't sympathize because your mom is dead." she spat. His chest felt like someone was sitting on it. Pain, old and worn throbbed dully in his throat.

"Surely your mom taught you the difference between good and bad? You were stealing. Thieves go to jail. That's not on me."

"You called the cops." her voice was venom that she spat at him. "You took away my sisters. They were all I had. Now I'm taking away what you have. A stick for a stick. Girl for a girl. Multiplied by two accounting for interest."

"That's a steep rate, I'm not going to you for banking," he muttered under his breath. He was barely paying attention to his own words now, desperately trying to figure a way out. His eyes scanned the floor, ceilings, and walls. There must be a trap. This was too easy. She didn't have backup, she knew he was Spiderman. She knew he had enhanced strength. Think, think, think!

She heard his quip despite the murmur.

"For a spider brat you sure have a mouth on you huh?" she snarled, mouth turning down into an ugly grimace. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her grip tighten on the weapon. Cool it Parker, agitate her and she might get a lucky shot. Spiderman isn't bulletproof. Keep her talking, there's a way out.

"Why am I here? Why go to all the trouble of kidnapping them and dragging me down here? Now I know who the "jailer" is. And if I know, the other Avengers can get it out of me."

Another cruel smile.

"Ah, well you misinterpreted my use of the words "taking away." I'm not "jailing" them, Peter. I'm going to kill them. Right in front of you." She pointed a finger at him, hard and accusing. "I will likely never see my sisters again. You did that. I know you are not unfamiliar with death, Mr. Parker. I know you've felt it and I know you've watched it with your own eyes. What're four more bodies?" She gestured around grandly, smirking. "Nowhere to run to, Mr. Parker. Even if you did rip down this door like I'm sure you're perfectly capable of, as soon as you leave, they die. You stay and it's a clean kill. You leave and it'll be slow and agonizing. They'll be past the point of no return before the Avengers arrive and you'll know that they suffered under your choices."

"You're crazy! Murder is not on the same level as jail time!" There was a glint in her eyes now as she watched him, evidently enjoying watching him lose his cool.

"I didn't ask for your opinion. Shouldn't your mind be preoccupied with thinking of more ways to suck up to Stark? Or how to leech off the people around you?" she waved a hand at him dismissively. "I'm not scared of you. I don't know you just as Spiderman. I know you as Peter Parker, cute, gentle, kind, whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Point is, you don't have a mask or a suit. You're nothing without Stark's inventions. You rely on evasion tactics during fights."

"Two weeks ago I would have agreed with you."

"What?"

He lunged forward, quickly landing in a forward roll as the woman in front of him flailed and lifted her gun. Moving with lightning-fast reflexes he flipped up and kicked her legs out from under her. She fell hard, landing on her side. The gun fell out of her shocked grasp and skittered across the concrete floor. His eyes followed its journey as he debated grabbing it or somehow immobilizing her first. A tingle in the back of his skull alerted him to the fist hurtling towards his head. He dodged, then landed a blow of his own to her face. Harshly she collapsed back to the floor.

"You didn't even break my nose", she gasped nasally, clutching her face. "You're Spiderman, and you didn't have the strength to break my nose."

"That's me, ever the gentleman," he muttered bitterly. He grabbed her wrists and used his iron grip to drag her to the corner of the room, where he used a garden hose to tie her hands to the piping. She didn't fight.

"What's the code," he murmured.

"What?"

"The code? Y'know, the one that sets them free? My other option is to try and open the cell door with brute strength. But I'd rather not do that since they'll just get electrocuted to death if I do."

She paled.

"Y-you're not as stupid as you look Spiderman."

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment."

…

"Learned something from me after all then little spider?" Natasha asked as she raised an eyebrow at him. She gave him a rare full smile as she passed the threshold of the cell into the bigger room. He smiled back appreciatively before being grabbed into a hug, almost falling over as May lunged at him.

"Oh my god, she pulled a gun on you! Are you okay?" She pulled back to regard him skeptically, hands palming his cheeks. He chuckled.

"She didn't shoot me May, you were the one who got dragged into a cell, are you ok?"

She waved him off, scoffing and pulling him into another hug. Pepper moved into his line of sight and smiled at him, reaching out a hand to squeeze his shoulder. She pulled back and out of the corner of his eye he saw her reach for her Starkphone, (which had been sitting tantalizingly close to the clear cell window) evidently to give her husband the all-clear.

Even MJ came over once May had let him go. She stood in front of him, eyes on the ground. Then, without warning, she threw her arms around his neck.

"Don't ever let that happen again loser," she mumbled into his shirt. He hugged her back, relishing the feeling.

Female energy was what he gravitated towards. After years of it just being him and May, he was used to her soft frets and gently hugs. Natasha and Pepper had become his home-away-from-home family and MJ…...well she was MJ. Smart, coy, and never let you know just what she was feeling.

He was Spiderman. No one could take anyone else from him.


	4. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Peter's trapped under a building

New York invaders needed to be more original.

They had dealt with alien attacks before. Simple plan. Take out the fuckers and leave. As blunt as his order had been and as disapproving as Cap had been about the swearing, it was an easy enough plan. Peter especially was very excited about being out and having an "Actual mission for a change!" His enthusiasm was met with amused chuckles and rolled eyes from the others.

"Have fun, kid. Web 'em up." Tony told him, letting himself grin affectionately behind the Iron Man mask. Peter's nodded giddily, mechanical eye slits widening as he jumped into the sky.

As the battle commenced Tony had his repulsors on full blast and was enjoying watching Spiderman swing in and out of sight, whooping through the speakers. After about 17 minutes of airborne acrobatics, the hissing creatures seemed to realize they were losing and became intent on causing as much property damage as possible. Fires started blooming from windows like deadly flowers of heat. Holes were ripped from the sides of buildings as blasts peppered the sides. An old bank was actually brought down by the sheer amount of blasts entering its brittle frame, crumbling to the ground with a sound like thunder. Tony was glad he was in the sky and didn't have to feel the aftershocks. Dust billowed into the air. Booming echoes came from all speakers as the team worked.

"I'd stay away from buildings now kid. Seems like their on the warpath."

Silence.

"Peter?"

Nothing.

"Peter, what's going on?"

Panic rose in his throat, thick and choking.

"Bad time to go silent on me kid." Still nothing.

"FRIDAY? Find Peter Parker." He dodged another blast and fired up his repulsors again.

"My sensors detect a heat signal matching Peter Parker's in the midst of what used to be Mclarky's bank."

"Are you telling me my kid is under a fucking building?!" Tony spun around midair, trying to get a better view on said fallen structure "Please tell me he's alive FRIDAY. Check with Karin and ask her to send a report."

"Yes sir."

The intruding creatures were clambering over each other to fire blow after blow at him. He dove out of the way of a particularly nasty blast and let off another wave of small missiles. Fuck. He had led a 15-year-old kid into battle and now look at what had happened. His heart was taking a dive towards his feet, mind screaming to get your ass over there and find the kid! His lungs burned as he sucked in a breath, not realizing he had been holding it. Reports flashed on his visor, warning him about his increased heart rate and shitty breathing patterns. He couldn't care less. Blood dripped down his cheek.

"Karin says she is unable to perform a full scan, sir. The rubble is obstructing her sensors." Icy daggers were clawing up his chest, gouging welts of guilt.

"Is he alive?" Please tell me he's alive.

A pause.

"Tony, what the fuck is going on? Why are you freezing?" Rhodey's voice yells over the mic and makes him jolt. He quickly tapped a button on his watch and activated "Stern Parent Protocol", effectively shutting off communications from his and Peter's suits.

Silence.

His heart had left his chest now. He couldn't feel it beating, he could only feel the fear in his chest, a burning panic that felt like acid in his veins. _I need to get down there right fucking now!_

Gasping, grunts and heavy breathing suddenly erupted through the speakers, and Tony thought for a second he might fall out of the sky. Relief hit him like a headlong collision with a moving bus. He heard dust and rubble move as someone shifted and panicked breathing turning into near sobs.

Screams erupted from the speakers, guttural, and raw. Unlike anything Tony had ever heard before. The screams of a terrified, wounded child.

"PETER! Kid, I'm here! I'm here! Peter!" His voice was being drowned out in the cacophony of noise and he could barely hear himself talk over the ringing in his ears. The begging and pleading continued and Tony knew he would be hearing those screams in anxiety-driven nightmares for years to come. Add it to the fucking list of traumatic events.

"Boss, it appears that Mr. Parker's communication systems are down."

He could barely hear FRIDAY over Peter's terrified yells.

"PLEASE!" His voice was raspy with fear and what sounded suspiciously like pain. "I'M DOWN HERE! PLEASE! PLEASE!"

Tony knew he had a soft spot for the kid. Had known that since he had met the kid a few months ago and Peter had told Tony the same thing Tony told himself daily. "When you can do the things I can, but you don't. And then the bad things happen… they happen because of you."

Tony Stark was a world-renowned genius, looked up to by many for his inventions and innovative thinking. His thought processes were different than the normal person's, he anticipated many things that others didn't even consider. He didn't expect the crushing guilt and parental panic at the idea of a 15-year-old kid hurt, trapped, and panicking. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Gripping, breathtaking, and frantic.

The screaming continued and Tony forgot how to breathe again. His brain felt like it was short-circuiting and all he could think was that kid thinks he is completely alone and I can't get to him to prove otherwise. Fumbling with his suddenly slow and clumsy fingers he turned down the communications coming from Peter's suit a little so he could hear and opened his communications to all again. Instantly his ears fill with the muffled grunts, blasts, and explosions of his teammates in battle.

"You can't go rogue like that Tones!" Rhodey's voice is back, loud and laced with relief. Tony didn't have time for a witty reply.

"Listen up!" He barked through the comms. "Spiderman's down!" he called, sending a shot from his repulsors right through an alien's head. The thing crumpled lifelessly to the side and Tony gritted his teeth.

"The fuck do you mean, "Spiderman's down?" Rhodey interrupted, confusion and the barest hint of panic slipping into his voice. "Spiderman? Come in, Spiderman!"

"His communication systems are down and he can't hear us, he's trapped under Mclarky's bank. I can't get to him but someone fucking needs too!" He pressed another button and allowed Peter's suit to send its outputting audio to the others. The boy was still at it, sobbing.

"He's panicking in there and he might be hurt. Everyone give their current status, the person freest needs to get to him!" He could sense the frozen horror of his teammates as they listened to the wails of fear, to Peter begging for his life. Steve was the first to speak, apparently the first to regain composure.

"Tony, I'm headed there right now. Mclarky's?"

"Yeah. Hurry. I'll keep these fuckers away from you and will be down when I can. Bruce? On medical standby."

"On it." They both replied simultaneously.

Tony struggled to push the panic down as he continued to fire shot after shot. Flames were erupting out of the windows of a building to his left and he eyed them warily. Repulsors sounded above him as Rhodey dropped down and turned his back to him, starting to fire shots of his own.

"Tones, take a breath," Rhodey warned as he shot through the chest of one of the aliens snarling at them.

"I am" he hissed back, back stiff and teeth clenched. Rhodey sighed but knew better than to push.

Down below they both saw the familiar red, white, and blue streak across the ground and towards the rumble.

"Keep holding down my 6 o'clock. I've got eyes on the Cap," he ordered Rhodey, who just turned and started firing without complaint.

Lucky for them the aliens seemed more interested in the two flying creatures firing then the colorful man running towards the rumble. A few made attempts to follow the Cap but they were easily eliminated by Tony's repulsors. His eyes were trained on the Cap's back as he started pulling large chunks of concrete from the pile and flinging them behind him like they were nothing but cardboard.

Tony was so focused that he didn't notice the blast coming towards his 9 o'clock. Rhodey was so busy keeping away the ones at his 6 that he also didn't notice the crackling ball of blue energy that came hurtling towards Tony's side. It made its mark and Tony nearly fell out of the goddamn sky again. Stars flashed before his eyes. His vision flashed from red to black and the suit faltered and fell a couple of feet. His side was on fire, the blast electrocuting his body and sending tendrils of lava through his bones. It felt like someone has shoved a white-hot fire poker into his side and for a moment his lungs caught in his throat and his voice faltered. Rhodey was yelling at him in the background, but it sounded as if the words were coming from a very great distance away. Even Peter's cries had died down in the background. As his vision cleared he rose back up and retook his spot behind Rhodey. Now that his vision was clearing his eyes went back to the rubble, watching as Cap dug himself deeper into the debris.

"Cap, put your speakers on so I can hear what's going on." he hissed between clenched teeth, wincing as the movement of his ribs sent more shocks of pain down his spine. He completely ignored Rhodey's questions of concern.

Cap did as he was asked and the crunching of concrete and grit reverberated in everyone's ears. Even Tony and his damaged hearing could hear the sobs getting closer.

"Kid?" Captain America called. "Peter?"

"Not-t again," the kid moaned. Tony felt his heart constrict painfully as he realized that this, being trapped under a building, was probably what Peter had been having nightmares about for the last few weeks. Ever since the disaster that has been Peter's homecoming.

"Peter! I'm right here. Can you hear me?" There was a pause and another crash as another piece of concrete was moved.

"Captain America?" Peter mumbled.

"Yeah kid, it's me. Let's get you out OK? Are you OK to be moved? Karin can't tell us so you need to be honest with me here."

"'M'fine, get me out. I can't move. Please," his voice sounded choked again.

"Ok kid, I've got you. Just breathe." There were sounds of grunting and whimpers as flesh was pulled over concrete. Tony watched as Cap's back returned to sight and Peter's much smaller body followed suit. Panicked breaths were still coming from his speakers and as he came out of the rubble injury reports started flashing across Tony's screen. Karin was back online and was obviously quite distressed at her ward's condition. As soon as the kid was in view Tony allowed himself to drop to the ground, Rhodey forgotten. He came to a halt by Peter's side. This kid was laying flat on his back, panting.

"M-Mr Stark?"

"I'm here kid," he replied gently, taking a knee beside him. He peeled off the Spiderman mask to reveal Peter's young face, streaked red with blood and tears. The wet eyes squinted in the sun, came to rest on Tony, then scrunched up again as Peter dissolved into sobs. Heart in pieces, Tony leaned over and put his head on Peter's chest, giving him the best hug he could with one of the participants confined to the ground. He mumbled calming words and let the kid cry onto his shoulder. A firm pat to the back let him know that Bruce was behind him. Reluctantly he peeled himself away from Peter only to see that the child had passed out and was now lying pale and bloody on the ground. Tears still dripped from his cheeks. The sight made his other knee collapse beneath him. _I_ s _hould have never brought him here._

Numbly he relayed Karin's scans to Bruce. Severe panic attack, fractured ribs, a laceration to the back of the head, moderate concussion. Air was getting stuck in his throat and he had to cough to hide his gasp for breath. Bruce nodded and turned to Peter. Cap was standing a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the scene with a mixture of horror and rising nausea. He was covered in streaks of blood that weren't his own. He could hear Rhodey talking to him but there were rocks in his throat. He heard FRIDAY speak up and rat him out to the others, revealing the electrocution injury that seemed to grow in strength every second. The pain was making the edges of his vision black. He saw eyes turn to him and the flashes of concern in their gazes.

He was barely aware of Rhodey's hand on his shoulder before his vision swirled and failed to return to normal. His head swam and he knew no more.


	5. Failed Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this chapter as its own piece on my account a while ago. If some of you recognize it, that's why.

He was holding the whole world in his hands.

That's what he told himself day every day since he became Iron Man. The world needed his help and he was happy to provide…..most of the time. When the Avengers came to be, things got more complicated. Suddenly he had a team to consider, he couldn't just do whatever he wanted when he wanted. Sure, there were added consequences thanks to the accords but to be honest Natasha's rath scared him more than any old government official. Under the watchful and frankly scary eyes of Pepper, he got his shit together and started learning to take orders as well as give them.

The "Original Avengers" had all been experienced adults. Even when they expanded everyone had fit in those two categories (well, Wanda was kind of an exception but shhhhhh at least she had experience.) When the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Peter Parker came onto Tony's radar he hadn't expected the arrangement to be so….. permanent.

As with everyone else that got within 10 feet of the kid, he got sucked into those damn doe eyes, his eager to please attitude. Peter followed Tony around like a damn puppy and if he was being honest… he kind of enjoyed it. He had a sense of responsibility now, something to help get him out of bed. Peter was his responsibility, even at his tender age he showed major potential and an incredible skill set. Tony had spent many hours on modifications and protocols for the boy, especially since the Homecoming fiasco. He vowed to himself that something like that would never happen again. Peter could have easily been killed by that madman he took on alone. Even the thought made Tony shiver. Peter had a bad habit of trying to get involved in situations that should be left for the more experienced, and today was no exception.

"You're benched."

"No I'm not! Mr. Stark, I can handle myself!"

Tony sighed and brought both hands to his face, rubbing at the worn lines already creasing his features.

"Peter, you are 15 years old. If I tell you you're benched, then you're benched." In the background he can hear Pepper mumbling something grumpily that sounds suspiciously like "YOU were supposed to be benched."

The eyes of the Spiderman suit narrow.

"You're saying that like I don't have the same responsibilities you do. This has nothing to do with my age, I was doing this before I met you. I need to help Mr. Stark! You don't understand!"

Tony opened his mouth to protest again that "Um, no you do NOT have the same responsibilities I do kid. This is an adult job and I will not have your blood on my hands" when Steve burst through the lab door.

"Tony, Spiderman, you've got 3 minutes to meet us at the doors, grab everything you need." With a pointed look to Tony's suitless body and a respectful nod to Peter he disappeared out the door again. "Undoubtedly to find someone else to harass", Tony thought irritably. He could picture Peter's shit-eating expression as he turned to Tony again.

"Besides, if you don't let me fight you've got to explain to all of them why and I figure you don't want to tell them how old I am? In my experience, people tend to think my age means I can't take care of myself." Another pointed look at Tony.

"Kid, it's not that I think you aren't good at what you do. Just-" he fumbled for words he couldn't quite find to express himself properly "-don't do anything stupid, alright? Support, that's your job."

"TONY, SPIDERMAN!"

Quickly, Tony activated his suit and stepped inside. The metal folded and wrapped its way around his body, whirring as parts connected and snapped into place. He followed the kid as Peter practically hopped up the stairs, coming to a stop in front of Captain Asshole. Steve looked past the kid to raise an eyebrow at Tony. It took all his willpower not to raise a mechanical middle finger back at him. With a withering look the Captain turned to the team, clapping loudly to gather their attention.

"Alright, listen up. We have a hostage situation at an undercover Hydra compound. Fury suspects that they're trying to start up another "Winter Soldier" look-alike program. They're breeding killers. We don't know how far along the hostages are into the program. We don't know how dangerous they will be, let alone the guards, who are sure to be heavily armed." He ran a hand over his clean-shaven face tiredly then continued.

"Because of SHIELD's inside source we have a chance to intercept before things go sideways. Here's the plan. Tony, Bucky, Rhodes, and I will take the head-on approach. Spiderman, you're going to take the vents, jump down on them as a surprise attack, and web up as many as you can. Natasha, you do what you have to get to those hostages and take down their technology. Clint, you're making sure she gets there okay. We have Dr. Banner in the medbay readying it for the influx of patients we're about to get." He broke the speech long enough to regard them all with a half grimace.

"We're working with unknown threats here and that makes every step we take from here on out extremely risky. Eyes and ears open at all times. We've got a lot of advantages that they don't."

…

About 10 minutes away from the HYDRA compound Peter jumped out of the smaller quinjet lookalike, shouting a quick explanation behind him about a "Surprise attack, remember?". Tony hurried over to a window to watch the boy's descent. He watched as Peter freefell a good 50 feet before extending his arm and letting a web yank him into the treeline, whooping with joy. A light chuckle behind him had him turning to meet Clint's slightly amused grin.

"Kid's got style."

"Or he has a death wish," Natasha murmured beside him. Tony turned sharply to glare at her but she simply met his gaze steadily. He knew she only made comments like that because of her own concerns (and suspicions about the age of the young hero), but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"He's fine, just showing off," he grumbled, breaking his eye contact with Nat and taking his seat once more, folding his arms over his chest.

"Hey, Tones? Who is that kid anyway?" Now his disgruntled glare was directed at Rhodey.

"Secret identity Rhodes."

"He knows who we are," Rhodey pointed out.

"Like any of you were really keeping it a secret," Tony snapped back, leaning his head against the rail above him. He was fully pissed off now. He couldn't get that kid to listen to a damn thing he said, Peter was always running into the thick of things with absolutely no idea what he was fighting for. This mission puts every single one of them at risk. On top of that, now he was playing 20 questions with the rest of the team and he had absolutely no patience for it. He could feel their eyes on him. Even the Avengers who had stayed quiet so far regarded him. Let them. He remained stubbornly quiet.

As the look-alike quintjet landed on a rooftop roughly a block out he let his faceplate drop over his features. He was ready to therapeutically blow some guys up. The Avengers gathered themselves quickly, Tony and Captain Asshat took the front, flanked by Rhodey and Bucky, then Clint and Nat. Tony had no doubts Peter had already made it into the vent system. As armed as they were, not even Hydra expected a vent based attack.

The Hydra compound was huge and heavily resembled a warehouse. Glancing at the outside it looked like a completely normal building but Tony wasn't fooled. They exited the jet quickly, knowing they had very little time before they lost the element of surprise. They broke into a light jog over the asphalt, coming to a halt in front of the big double doors. On a good day, Tony would have taken the more classy route and asked FRIDAY to "Be a dear and hack through the security system." Today he was annoyed and worried and therefore lacked tact.

"Hope you all put on your big kid pants today," Tony muttered in the vague direction of his teammates, aiming his repulsors at the doors. The blast hit the door at full power and the chains on the insides of the doors were melted clean through.

"Might wanna work on your security, just a suggestion." Tony quipped to the now frozen guards. It only took a moment before gunfire started lighting up the air.

"Heavily Armed," was one way to put it. "Some Absolute Bullshit," was another. Steve had his shield out in the next two seconds, crouching behind it like a coiled-up snake. From the safety of its vibranium body, Natasha and Clint were also crouching, taking their own masterful shots back. Bucky was stuck waiting for the all-clear behind Natasha and Clint, snarling frustratedly at his lack of long-range weaponry. Tony and Rhodey had the luxury of big metal suits and were having their own fun. Frustration built on the shielded faces of the black-cloaked guards as their bullets did no harm to the two flying creatures overhead. Tony's repulsors shots WERE doing harm, and so were Rhodey's. All eyes and weapons were trained on the super intruders, so when a head popped out of the ceiling and two white mechanical eyes appeared, no one noticed until after the first 5 guns had been whipped out of grasps and onto the ceiling.

Startled cries broke through the air and a few of the guards turned to see what had caused the noises of distress. Now less outnumbered and with their targets confused and distracted, they all took their shots. Bucky lunged forward, extending out his arms to grab two guards by their throats and slamming their backs into the ground, one in each hand. Captain America flung his shield out like a Frisbee, knocking over guards like baseball cards, sliding across the floor as bullets pursued him. Natasha was flipping gracefully through the air, carrying out a sort of gymnastic karate as she worked her way across the room. Clint had his bow and arrow out and with one eye on Nat he was taking out her threats while taking care of his own. All while more and more guns were being ripped from hands and onto the ceiling, walls, and floors surrounding them as Spiderman swung from rafter to rafter.

On a low set second floor, about 35 feet from where they had originally burst in was a curtained off room, surrounded by thick glass. It didn't take a genius to figure out where the hostages were being tied up and tortured. As guns were torn away from grips and the guards were forced to resort to their hand to hand training, Spiderman saw his opening. Seeing Natasha a little preoccupied he took a wide swing, legs to his chest, using momentum to pull him forward before extending his legs and shattering the window with sheer force. Glass scattered everywhere, littering the floor and glittering like snow. The light coming from the wide-open doorway hit the pieces of glass and iridescent rainbows shone lazily across the room. With a call of "Taser webs Karen!", the computer equipment was fried. Sparks flew and when a light tingle bloomed at the base of his neck he ducked, missing a particularly fiery spew that surely would have singed off his eyebrows.

Looking confusedly up at him were about 8 adults, looking decidedly not murder-y, which Peter was very grateful for. The didn't seem injured, just dazed and scared. With another well-aimed, super strength powered kick Peter made a hole in the side of the compound wall. More sunlight streamed in and the adults squinted at the opening like they had never seen the sun before.

"Don't wait for us, go to jet! Back at the tower, we've got a guy there that'll check you over." Still looking around in utter confusion, like they didn't know what was going on or what anything around them was, the hostages filed out of the jagged hole in the wall.

Peter turned on his heel and lept back through the other hole, into the midst of the fight. "Nice!". All he wanted to do was impress Mr. Stark, and now he had a chance of actually doing it! That'll show Tony how capable he was! With a light leap, he jumped back onto the ceiling, pulling out his web-shooters to help incapacitate some of the guards.

Tony himself had just fired a strain of missiles, and they exploded on the ground in a cacophony of noise. By now the battle was pretty much over, the Hydra cronies no match for 7 supercharged superheroes. Tony was looking forward to a clean finish when his thoughts were interrupted by another yell.

"GRENADE!" Captain America shouted. He dove in the opposite direction, snagging Nat by the waist and taking her with him, holding up his shield to protect them both front the brunt of the blast.

Tony already had eyes on the guy who had thrown it and shot him through the chest before he could take another step. He whipped his head around just in time to see Peter fly through the air above him. Tony didn't even have time to scream before Peter's body collided with the grenade and they were both thrown back into the wall. His skull, despite being covered in the metal of his helmet, was thrown back harshly into the cement and he crumpled to the floor, vision blurring, head on fire. His ears were ringing, the breath knocked out of him. He could just make out the sounds of metal clattering to the ground as the room exploded into sparks of silver. Shards of metal, glass, and destroyed armor littered the floor. He pulled himself to his feet slowly, ignoring the crunching of glass underfoot. He almost collapsed as his head swam and his vision tunneled, but he didn't care. He had just watched a child launch himself at a grenade.

"P-peter….." his voice faltered as dread pooled into his stomach. No. No. Not the excitable child who had curled up in his lap and fallen asleep during movie night. Not the kid who flushed red at any joke that was even slightly crude. Not the boy who played hide and seek on the ceiling.

He stumbled across the ground, ignoring his teammates as they too got to their feet. Peter had been flung clear across to the opposite side of the room. Blood was splattered everywhere, including the walls like some 80's horror movie. He tripped over one of the black-clothed bodies littering the floor and had to take a second to regain his balance. Carnage was everywhere. The scent of death hung thick in the air. Time seemed to slow as he dropped to the kids side, relief filling his hollow heart as he saw the heaving of Peter's chest. He could hear movement behind him but he ignored it. Shrapnel was everywhere, littering Peter's chest, arms, and legs. Blood was pooling on the floor, weaving a river across the concrete. A particularly large piece stuck out from the boy's sternum. Peter himself was panting, tears dripping down his cheeks, the mechanical eyes of the suit wide and pain-stricken. Tony reached up and gently pulled the mask off, completely lost for words, his own gripping panic rendering him speechless. Peter's wide and frightened gaze turned to him, bottom lip wobbling. His hand flopped limply at his side and Tony took it without hesitation.

"Karen," Tony's words were soft and hesitant, lips not quite forming the question. His mouth felt dry. He didn't take his eyes off Peter's. A 3D model expanded into view, rotating slowly as Karen silently highlighted Peter's injuries. Forced entry points of foreign bodies, the jagged edges of broken ribs, a pool of red expanding inside the model that shouldn't be there. To his horror, Tony saw reports flashing across the screen indicating irreversible organ damage done to boy's spleen and one of his kidneys.

"Tony," a soft voice behind him made him break gazes with the whimpering child at his feet. It wasn't until his vision failed to fully focus that he realized he was crying. Captain America looked past him at the sight of a broken and blood-covered boy with thinly veiled horror. It was the first time he had seen the boy's face. With a gulp, he returned Tony's gaze.

"Bruce called, he said he got the injury report from FRIDAY. His organs are shutting down, Tony. Nothing we can do."

Tony choked on a breath and moaned, low and guttural like a wounded animal. He couldn't breathe. The world spun around him in a lazy, nausea-inducing circle. The suit melted away until the man was left on his knees in front of the Cap, blood soaking through his clothing. When he looked back up at his team members his eyes held something they had never seen before. Vulnerability. Hot tears ran down his cheeks as he looked up at them with what could only be described as guilty, panic-filled terror.

"Oh god, h-he's just fifteen." The statement didn't even seem directed at them, just at the empty air, thick with tension.

His attention was back to Peter in a millisecond, his body curled over the fallen as he whispered words of comfort to the boy. He didn't see Rhodey's and Cap's faces drain of all color. He didn't see Clint, who knew just how it was like to have children, turn and throw up, dark bile spattering against the floor. He didn't see Nat's eyes close as she fought tears, didn't see Bucky freeze in place, eyes wide.

It was just him and Peter.

"T-tony?"

"Yeah, kid. I'm right here." He stroked Peter's hair, wishing he could be more of a comfort. He could see Peter's skin wrapping around smaller pieces of shrapnel, burying pieces of metal inside his body as it desperately tried to win a losing battle. Dark blood curled around them both. Peter's right arm was sticking out at a strange angle, hanging useless at his side after it's impact with the wall.

"I-I'm s-scared."

"You're alright Pete, you're good." Peter's eyes filled with tears again and Tony brushed them away, shushing him gently. Peter's chest heaved below his touch as he struggled to pull air around the intruding metal.

"Y'you o-ok?" Peter's eyes were wild and glassy, searching for him.

"I'm fine. You saved us, y'know? I told you you'd be the best of all of us. I'm so proud of you." He was rewarded with a dopey smile. Peter's eyes flickered and Tony's heart clenched again.

This was really it. No more excitable kid running around his lab, no more patrol reports, no one to stare at him in wonder like he was the coolest person alive. Instead of those wide eyes, that big smile, the excitable chatter was the grey pallor of a barely conscious kid surrounded by a halo of his own blood. Tony hoped he was past the point of pain. He hoped those doe eyes weren't taking in his surroundings as his head moved softly from side to side.

Tony's whole body was shaking uncontrollably. His hands shook as he touched the side of Peter's face, trying desperately to distract the boy from the chaos, the bodies littering the floor around them.

"Hey, bud, look at me, ok? Focus on me." Glass-covered brown eyes meet his, wide, trusting, and searching.

"M'is'er S'ark? Am I going to be okay?"

Tony felt his stomach flip and nausea fill his throat, threatening to pull up his organs with one heave. He fought to push the feeling down, gagging. His eyes were blurring and burning and he blinked, letting tears roll down his cheeks, dripping onto the blood-streaked ground.

"Yeah, bud. You're gonna be just fine. Go to sleep, Spiderbaby. You did so well. So well. I'm so proud of you," he choked, barely able to speak over the lump in his throat. He smiled down gently, stroking away the boy's tears as tears of his own dripped onto Peter's cheeks.

Peter's eyes fluttered again and Tony leaned over, pressing his lips to Peter's hairline.

"There you go, kid. You did so well. Just rest, kid. I love you so much." No more suffering for him. Please.

Peter's eyes closed and Tony pressed his lips together, eyes closing, whole body shaking, as a silent sob racked through his body. He opened them again and let his hand rake through Peter's hair, saltwater tears hitting jagged metal edges protruding from soft flesh.

"You're so brave, Peter. That was so brave."

Peter didn't respond. He never would again.

Tony had never felt more alone. He sat on the floor of a war-zone, covered in blood, tears, and broken metal. He cradled Peter's body in his arms, allowing the floodgates to open, for the cavernous hole to open rip holes through his entire being, tearing him open from the inside out.

He didn't think about May, and how he was going to have to explain to her that today she had lost her only family. He didn't think about Ned and how he had lost his best friend. He especially didn't think about MJ, the scary girl who would never get to know Peter's real feelings, how he grinned with animated nervousness whenever he talked about her. He didn't think of all the missing milestones, how Peter hadn't even graduated high school yet. He didn't think about Queens, who had lost their greatest hero. He didn't think about everything in the world he would do to take Peter's place. He just sat on the floor of a war-zone, covered in blood and tears and broken metal.

He was holding his whole world in his hands.


	6. Crashed Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and MJ run into a little bit of trouble....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short 'n sweet chapter :)

Peter alternated weekends in Avengers Tower and with Aunt May. Tonight was an Avengers Tower night, and he had received permission from Mr. Stark to have a guest. Due to Peter's impressive friend group size (not), whenever he was allowed to bring guests, the person he invited was usually Ned. He felt too nervous to invite MJ over, even though she very much knew about his secret.

Ironically, it had been his nerves to let the cat out of the bag in the first place. During a movie night with Ned and MJ she had asked him to pass the chips and as he did his sticky fingers had decided to stick fast to her hand and refuse to let go. (That had been awkward to explain.) ((And even more awkward to unstick.))

Things had progressed since then and, (in the most awkward and typical turn of events ever), Peter had developed a huge crush on the sarcastic, dry-witted, straight-faced girl. Who just happened to be extremely beautiful. *Cough* Errrrr…..

Anyway.

After a huge, anticipation-filled buildup, (catastrophic in Peter's mind) filled with nervous texts to Ned, sleepless nights, and close calls of (god forbid) DATING ADVICE from Tony, his worries about making the first move were crushed in typical MJ style when after decathlon practice one night she kissed him. Right next to the water fountain. The metal had dug straight into his hip and he was sure at any second they were going to get caught and kicked off of the team and his academic career was surely in jeopardy if anyone saw them and boy Flash would have a field day with this one and woah, were girls lips always this soft….?..?

It was the single greatest moment of his life.

Two weeks later and Peter would like to think things were going well. They hadn't broken up at least, and Peter considered that a win.

Currently, they were sitting on one of the luxurious couches. MJ's legs were draped over his as they watched the newest episode of Dr. Who. Her hand rested limply over his. Discarded popcorn bags were strewn across the room as well as two cans of semi-empty coke. They were both invested in what was playing out before them but Peter couldn't quite bring himself to relax. He had never had a girl over, let alone in the house of his idols and teammates.

He was in the midst of forcing himself to relax when chuckles and footsteps broke through his concentration. His nerves, already on high alert and mixed with his enhanced hearing, picked up the movements as soon as they came into range. MJ with her normal human hearing, couldn't hear anything and when Peter suddenly froze under her fingertips she frowned, looking at him questioningly. His eyes were locked straight in front of him, focusing on the sounds quickly approaching. Who was coming here? This was one of the more private floors so it couldn't be any of the employees and his teammates weren't due back from the shawarma place until after 7….. Peter's eyes drifted to the clock. Realization dawned.

"Oh godohmygodohmygod." Peter got up so quickly from the couch that he stumbled, simultaneously pushing MJ off his lap and tripping over his feet in his attempt to lean his body in front of MJ's.

"Peter, what's happening?" MJ questioned, her face twisting into a mixture of slight alarm and annoyance at his sudden freakout. Her eyes traveled to the door and her eyebrows lifted. Clearly, the footsteps had just come into range for her.

Peter, with all the masculinity of a potato, squeaked and jumped away from her to the other side of the couch. He folded his arms, staring stiffly at the TV with wide, Bambi eyes and flushed cheeks.

It was the exact opposite of casual and MJ wasn't having it. She reached over to dig her index finger into his ribs and he flinched, relinquishing his spot and shifting over stiffly, eyes wide and trained on the offending door. She grabbed his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. That just made him blush harder. Without looking he knew MJ's gaze had returned back to its uninterested default. They must have been a sight for sore eyes. MJ and her dead-eyed stare, Peter vibrating like a fork in a toaster.

The footsteps reached a crescendo and the conversation became clearer and clearer.

"If Thor's in charge of movie night, I swear to god I'm not going. There's only so many times I can watch animal documentaries."

"Tony, you always say that, and then you get completely engrossed 10 minutes in. At this point you may as well drop the act that you don't enjoy them."

To Peter's utter horror, it wasn't just one or two Avengers that came into the room. It was the majority of the people currently living there. The original six. Tony, Steve, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor. When they crossed the threshold and entered the room, the conversation dropped. Clearly they hadn't been expecting anyone, let alone their youngest member cuddling up to…. someone not Ned?

Clint was the only one who completely lost his composure, doing a double-take at the girl on the couch who was decidedly not Ned. He froze in place, Tony Stark himself coming to a stop next to him. Tony took a long look at the stone-faced girl, scanning her up and down before coming to a rest on Peter's pink face, burning like a house on fire. Slowly, a smirk stretched across his cheeks. The smirk quickly turned into a full-on grin, mischievous and full of mirth as he took in Peter's clear panic. His look clearly said, "You're fucked now, Spiderboy".

From an outsider's perspective, it looked like a cowboy standoff. Teenagers on one side, supercharged adults on another.

"MAN OF SPIDERS! WHO IS THIS NEW LASS YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU?"

Ah, fuck.

Thor's proclamation was too much for Clint and he burst out laughing, falling onto his knees and holding his sides as he took in what was quite obviously the worst moment of Peter's developing life. Natasha, to her credit, kicked him in the side. He yelped and quieted a bit, looking between Peter and MJ and giggling.

If Peter could be rocketed into space at that moment, he would. Alternatively, he would settle for being drowned.

Steve looked at Peter, then at MJ, then at their hands intertwined between them. He crossed his arms, smiled softly at them. Bruce flushed in sympathy and trained his eyes to the floor.

Yep, time to die.

"Urr, umm, t-this is, um, MJ".

The girl in question looked up and gave a quick, calculating wave (Could waves be calculating?). She gave them all a once over and rested her eyes on Stark. She narrowed her eyes at him and he smirked back.

Tony stepped forward and moved to the edge of the couch. He smiled at Peter, eyes gleaming.

"Petey's girlfriend," he supplied, grinning back at his teammates.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter protested, eyes widening to the point he thought they were going to pop out of his head. He grabbed a pillow from the corner of the couch and buried his face in it, half hoping to suffocate.

" I SEE. WHY HAVE YOU NOT TOLD US OF HER YOUNG PETER? IS IT A MIDGARDIAN TRAIT TO BE SO SECRETIVE WITH MATES?"

MJ, who had been silent up until this point, spoke up.

"Probably because he was trying to keep some sort of semblance of normal life. Come on Peter."

She stood up and pulled on his hand, dragging him through the small crowd of Avengers and through the doorway. After reaching the doorway she paused and seemed to come to a conclusion. Turning, she gently grabbed his face, leaned in, and kissed him. His brain completely shut off and without thinking, he closed his eyes and kissed her back. After a few seconds the world came back to him and he jumped a little, making a little alarmed noise at the back of his throat. He grabbed her arm and yanked her out of their view and into the hallway.

The room behind them fell into stunned silence until an unmistakably Stark-tinted voice called out behind them.

"Use protection!"


	7. The One With Bucky and Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You know what annoys me? We got exactly (0) domestic avengers & Peter action. Hell, Peter interacted with no one on a personal level except from Tony. That sucks. We were robbed.
> 
> Speaking of domestic avengers, I'm in desperate need of some Steve/Bucky/Peter time. If anyone has a reading recommendation, please let me know!
> 
> I know I'm going kind of 180 between fluff and angst here but with the plans in my head, that's going to continue. I have a sad one already planned. I did write two sad chapters in a row so here's a more establishing/ domestic one.

The public was weird.

Peter had learned pretty quickly after practically moving in with the Avengers that the public had a weird way of descibing those that came to their defense. Tony was thought to be unfeeling, Steve to be intimidating, Natasha to be cold and ruthless, and Bruce to be dangerous and untrustworthy. The descriptions weren't exactly wrong, but they were missing so much information that they could hardly be classified as correct. They were half-truths, woven into the newspaper articles to be accepted as accurate. Peter himself was thought to be in his mid- 20's, but given the public didn't know his identity, he wasn't perturbed by that. He had gotten off lucky.

The strange and downright _wrong_ depictions of Bucky Barnes were the ones that confused and angered him the most. Some talked about him in hushed disgust, murmuring stories of his murders to each other across coffee tables. Others called him a ruthless killer. A few looked at him in awe, drawing messy sketches of Steve and him in their old army uniforms, an arm closed around each other's backs, both smiling widely.

But Bucky wasn't any of those things. He wasn't a murder by any means, that had been the Winter Soldier. He also wasn't the guy from the 1900s anymore. Smiles like that barely crossed his face, if at all. The only way Peter could describe him was….. broken. The man was quiet and reserved, barely speaking a word to anyone. Only Steve seemed to know how the man's brain worked, what made him tick. Bucky was tired. That much was clear. He was tired of fighting, tired of war, tired of being a puppet.

Peter read the article in front of him again, frowning. He should speak to Mr. Stark to see if his lawyers could talk to the paparazzi. Surely, Mr. Bucky was hurt by the headlines, especially when he put his head on the line just like everyone else only to be called a killer. It wasn't fair, Peter decided. He tore up the paper, crushing it into a paper ball and throwing it into the corner of the room. A hand reached out and caught it before it hit the ground.

Peter spooked, yelping. He jumped from his seat, hopping up the wall, and crawling into a corner of the ceiling.

When he looked down he saw Mr. Barnes looking up at him, hands raised, the paper ball dropped, and eyes blown in alarm.

"It's okay, kid. It's just me, it's Bucky."

Peter squeaked and turned red, hopping down lightly from the ceiling and falling into a crouch before straightening.

"S-Sorry Mr. Bucky! You spooked me! I wasn't paying attention I-"

"It's alright kid, sorry for spooking you." He turned to leave, voice low and eyes not quite meeting Peter's. _Shame,_ Peter realized. Realization dawned as he registered the reason for the hasty retreat.

"No! Wait! It's ok, I'm not afraid you, Mr. Bucky!"

Bucky's eyes turned to meet him as he straightened, rigid, eyes trained on the child and drilling holes into his head. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it. Then, he opened it again.

"Maybe you should be," he murmured, softly, almost too quiet for regular human ears. Peter shook his head almost violently, eyes huge, face honest.

"I'm not scared! I've never been scared of you."

Bucky blinked a few times as if trying to process the information being told to him. He looked at Peter with his watchful, dark eyes, his heavily muscled arm folding with his metal one into a menacing crisscross. His head tilted as he regarded the child in front of him, the same child he'd been avoiding for the last few months. He realized then, that he had barely spoken a word to the child, too busy trying not to scare him to take notice of him.

He crossed the room, slowly, watching Peter as if to confirm that he wouldn't flinch. When Peter didn't, he sat down next to him. Peter looked at him in surprise but didn't scoot away. They sat together for a few seconds, both taking in the new situation.

"Mr. Bucky, sir?"

"Just Bucky, kid."

"Right. Um, you don't have to answer this because I don't want to be intrusive or anything and I'm sorry in advance but I never got to ask and-" Peter cut himself off, flushing. "Sorry. I just wanted to know if I did something to upset you. You know, because you never talk to me and sometimes I think you're ignoring me on purpose and I wanna be your friend because, well, you're super cool and we're on the same team and-"

"Kid." Now it was Bucky's turn to look startled. "You didn't do anything. I just wanted to keep my distance because my presence tends to make people….. uncomfortable."

"Why?" Peter looked honestly baffled. Bucky blinked again, then sighed.

"My brain…. doesn't work right. It gets stuck, sometimes I feel like I'm in the 1940's again, sometimes I forget I ever made it out of Hydra's clutches. I forget things I'm supposed to remember. Most of my memories are still blocked, sometimes I don't know what people are talking about when I should. Sometimes I forget to listen."

"That's not your fault." Peter frowned.

"Peter, I killed people."

"Most of us kill people. And the Winter Soldier is gone now, Bucky Barnes is different." Peter side-eyed him, too scared of his reaction to turn completely. He kept talking. "No one on the team is afraid of you, and anyone in the public who is? Well, they're just stupid because anyone who looks at history knows that you were brainwashed, and it's not fair for them to hold you to some godly standard like none of us have ever done wrong before and again, you didn't know what you were doing!" he finished, rushing. Bucky's face had gone blank, almost pensive. They were silent a while longer and Peter was beginning to wonder if he had upset the man. He was about to apologize when Bucky spoke again.

"Thank you."

"For what? I didn't do anything, that's just the truth, I-"

"You remind me of him." Bucky murmured. Peter blinked, put off by the sudden 180.

"Of who? Steve?"

"Yes."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Bucky was referring to pre-Captain America.

"I don't need protecting, Mr. Bucky." Peter protested, ears turning red. "I'm strong, I'm Spiderman."

Bucky's lips twitched at the corners like they were itching to form a smile.

"You're small, kid. You get yourself into trouble, you're selfless, and you have zero-self preservation."

Peter almost spluttered but instead turned pink and looked down.

"It's not an insult, kid."

He looked back up and saw that Bucky's eyes were soft. Peter had never seen that expression on his face before, let alone heard him talk so much at one time. All tension dropped from the air and both occupants of the couch relaxed.

"I- uh, thanks."

"Come on,", Bucky said, gently. Peter hopped up, half-surprised, half- eager.

"Where are we going?" he asked, following Bucky as he stood up. Bucky looked at him and grinned, reaching for the door and….. promptly ripping it off its hinges. He and Peter froze. The door was still clutched in his metal hand. There was silence for a long moment.

"...Fuck." Bucky grumbled.

Peter lost it, he fell onto one knee and grabbed at his stomach, giggling.

"Watch it, punk," Bucky grumbled, propping the door against the frame as if nothing had happened. He turned and smiled at Peter, letting him know there were no real hard feelings.

"You do that a lot?" Peter got out between giggles.

"More than I would like to admit", Bucky sighed.

"That's okay," Peter chuckled. "I've ripped the seat belt out of Happy's car more times than I can count."

Bucky looked at him, approving.

"Bet he didn't appreciate that." Bucky mused.

"No," Peter snickered.

Bucky snorted and rolled his eyes, then continued leading Peter into the communal…. kitchen?

"Sit," he directed. Peter sat obediently, pulling up one of the stools. Bucky hummed approvingly and started cracking eggs into a bowl. Now Peter really was confused.

"You're not the only one with super hearing, kid. Your stomach has been growling since I entered the room." He turned his back again, but Peter didn't miss his eyes crinkle at the corners. Peter groaned, hitting his head on the table as Bucky chuckled with his back still turned.

Footsteps started approaching and both enhanced individuals tensed slightly before a loud, familiar voice pierced the air.

"Hey, Buck. I was just coming up to tal-" Steve stopped at the entranceway, staring at the curly head resting on the table in shock. "Oh. Hello, Peter."

"Hey, Captain Rogers!" Peter's head shot up to look at him. Bucky looked between the two of them, squinted in thought, then turned around, returning to his eggs.

Steve also looked between the two of them. He had never seen Bucky, well, _willingly_ interacting with another Avenger. He took in Bucky's relaxed posture and Peter's slightly red face, then grinned. He grabbed a second stool and dragged it to the bar, leaning on the table towards Peter.

"So," he started conversationally. "You blackmailed Bucky into cooking for you, eh, kid? What dirt do you have on him? Can I have it?"

Peter snorted and ducked his head while Bucky turned around to point his spatula at Steve.

"Shut it, jerk."

Steve laughed, unperturbed. Bucky grabbed a plate from the cabinet and dumped the content of his frying pan on a plate. He turned around, setting a huge, steaming pile of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of his newfound friend. Peter's eyes widened and Steve chuckled as the kid licked his lips and grabbed his fork. He looked at Bucky to see his eyes soft as he stared at the kid. Steve looked down again, working hard not to reveal the delight welling up inside him. What did the kid say to him? He had never Bucky this open before.

"Make yourself useful and grab the kid a sweater, Buck. Look at him, the kid's freezing." Peter turned to him in alarm and opened his mouth to protest but Steve gave him a look. He shut his mouth, returning to his eggs. Bucky rolled his eyes and made for the door.

"Says you, ice cube."

Peter choked and spluttered, trying to contain a laugh around a mouthful of steaming food. Steve chuckled too and turned a soft look towards the teen.

"I don't know what you said, Peter, but thank you."

Peter looked at him, eyes wide. He swallowed and nodded. He looked down, swirling a piece of bacon around his plate.

"I didn't say anything, not really. I just don't see why he has to be guilty over things that aren't his fault. He thought I was afraid of him."

Steve looked at him, shocked. _Damn, I see why Tony likes him so much._

"He carries a lot of pain with him," Steve said carefully, sighing. "Guilt. I don't know if he'll ever really forgive himself. But Peter, whatever you said helped him. I've never seen him open up to someone else before"

Peter flushed but nodded.

"I want to be there for him if he'll let me. "

Steve nodded seriously.

" If he thinks you've got his back, he'll cover yours. Unconditionally."

Footsteps could be heard again and a distinct call of _Motherfucker!_ as the sounds of cracked wood and metal reached their ears. Stever rolled his eyes as Peter chuckled again, still chewing.

To the end of the line. Yeah, he could do that.

**Please review!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> review pls!


	8. Domestic Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder: these prompts live in different universes, hence the inconsistencies between chapters and the MCU in general.) ((AKA: Steve and Thor haven't met yet in this chapter.))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! Thank you guys for the incredible reception on the last chapter! I'm glad so many of you liked it! Please keep reviewing and letting me know your thoughts!! It means so much to me <3
> 
> ANNOUNCEMENT: I've made my first ever discord!!! Please join so I can make some Marvel friends lmao
> 
> https://discord.gg/DmrEpra

It was a rare thing for every official Avenger to be present at the compound. It was summer break for Peter and he was determined to get some much needed "bonding time" in with the rest of the team.

Said team was scattered around the common area leisurely. Steve was reading a book in an armchair, Clint, Sam, and Natasha were on the couch, bickering, Wanda was lying on her back flicking sparks of red between her fingers, and Bucky and Bruce were in the kitchen, drinking coffee. Vision was sitting next to Wanda while Rhodey and Tony sat prodding at a broken armor piece on the coffee table. Peter himself was trying to tie a knot using only web fluid; which wasn't going well as any time he used his fingers for assistance, they got stuck and he had to restart the whole process.

A sudden, violent flash of light accompanied by a sharp _bang!_ made everyone jump. Peter flinched so violently that he ended up with his back to the wall. One of his hands rested cautiously on the surface behind him as if he was prepared to climb to the promised safety of the ceiling at a moment's notice. Bucky materialized in front him, eyes tight and wary, standing protectively over the small teenager. Steve looked at them both warily, before turning to look out of the window, searching for a threat. Tony was the one to break the silence, throwing back his head dramatic to honest-to-god _whining_ at the ceiling.

"I thought I had soundproofed the launchpad? What is the point of being a genius and the best engineer the world has ever seen if you can't even soundproof the roof?" He turned to face the room, lips twitching as he took in Bucky's stance over Peter. "Chill, Vanilla Ice, it's just Thor".

Three pairs of eyes turned to him with confusion but everyone else had already relaxed and looked almost bored now the adrenaline was gone. Bucky didn't relax and Steve's eyes flicked to them again, before turning to Tony.

"Does Thor _normally_ land on the roof?"

Tony waved him off, already nodding.

"God of Thunder, remember? He uses his, oh, I don't remember the name...Mjö-whore?"

"Tony! Language!" was the absolutely appalled reply from the Captain, but Tony had already turned to Peter.

"Sorry Pete, I forgot you hadn't met Thor yet. Barnes and Noble also haven't met him, if that makes you feel any better."

Clint snorted from the couch and Natasha smacked his leg. Steve frowned and looked like he was about to respond when heavy footsteps could be heard on the stairs. If it was possible, Bucky tensed further and took a step back towards Peter. Peter lowered his hand from the wall cautiously, looking from Stark to the door with his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't have a second to decide whether Tony was telling the truth or not before a loud _boom_ shocked him so much that he shrieked and turned, climbing halfway up the wall. Knives had mysteriously appeared in Bucky's hands and Tony stepped forward in alarm.

"Jesus, Icepop! Put those away it's j-"

"Hello, Midgardians!" boomed Thor boisterously from the now broken-in door frame.

Three bodies sagged simultaneously. Peter slid down the wall, looking sheepish while Bucky reluctantly put his knives away, relaxing his posture slightly.

A chorus of "Hello!" from the couch made Thor turn and wave while Steve stepped forward with his hand outstretched.

"Nice to meet you, Thor, my name is Steve Rogers. These are my friends, Bucky Barnes and Peter Parker."

"Ah yes, Steve!" cried Thor excitedly, eagerly grabbing his hand. He turned to the two by the wall and waved cheerfully. He must have sensed the nervousness from Bucky and tactfully didn't approach, but Peter slipped from behind Bucky's shoulder and walked forward to meet him. Bucky made a little sound of dismay under his breath but was ignored.

"Hi, Thor! It's good to meet you!"

"And to you, tiny warrior!' Thor proclaimed. The smile slid from Peter's face and he scowled but Thor had already turned to Tony. "Dinner, Stark? I find that it is nice to catch-up over a feast."

Tony raised an eyebrow but gave up quickly, quirking up a lip.

"Ah, what the hell. FRIDAY?"

_"Yes, boss?"_

"Place a big take-out order. Huge. From a couple of different places."

" _On it, boss"_.

"Ah, good girl," Tony smirked and turned to Steve again. "If we use the dinner table, do you think you and scary eyes can avoid fonduing on it? It's vintage and I would hate to have to burn it."

"Be nice, Tony."

"I'm always nice, Honeybear!" Tony protested indignantly.

"Right." Rhodey deadpanned.

"I am!"

"Well, let's hold it to a vote," suggested Rhodey, diplomatically. "All those who feel they have been _personally_ victimized by Tony Stark?" His own hand raised peevishly and he cocked an eyebrow at the now indignant man in front of him.

All hands went into the air.

"Peter Parker you are a damned traitor!"

Said boy snickered but looked unapologetic.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark, but you _did_ hit me with a broom that one time."

"You were sleeping on the ceiling!"

"It was comfy!"

" _ETA: 17 minutes, boss."_

"Good girl."

… **..**

Peter could now see why they needed such a big table.

2 super-soldiers, 2 mutants, and 1 god of thunder later, and there was barely enough room for anyone else's dinner.

Clint had taken the liberty of retrieving Tony's entire coffee pot from its stand on the counter. He placed it onto the table, grinned, and was now sipping from the spout like it was a glorified baby bottle, much to Tony's obvious dismay.

Wanda was wrapping her red-tinged magic around pieces of bread, snatching them from the pile and bringing them to hover under Vision's nose. After a curious look from him and a nod from her, he gently zapped them with his head beam like a glorified toaster oven. The now steaming, browned bread was brought to her and she snatched it out of the air gleefully, grinning as she took a bite.

"On your left," smirked Bucky as he reached around Steve to pluck the last roll off of Sam's plate.

"Would you like to lose a second arm, Barnes? Because that's where this is going," hissed Sam furiously, watching with narrow eyes as Bucky snorted and shoved the whole roll into his mouth at once.

_"Ew,_ Bucky," complained Clint loudly, pouting as his hand was slapped away from Bruce's vegetarian meatballs.

Steve looked tremendously put-out by the whole encounter. He watched Bucky and Sam shove bread products in their mouths with a slightly dismayed look, paling slightly as it seemed to get more aggressive.

_"Touch my plate and die, Barnes."_

_"Try it, Wilson."_

Under the table, Peter was slipping on his web-shooters, preparing to take advantage of Steve's distracted state.

With a small _Thipp!_ , a piece of hotdog flew from Steve's plate and back across the table. The evidence was hidden under a large piece of sliced ham and the process continued until all hotdog pieces were successfully captured. Bucky, while still slightly distracted with the fuming Sam, noticed the movements and grinned, winking at the boy inconspicuously as Steve looked on, never the wiser.

With the obvious distraction of the table, Clint slowly leaned forward and tried to make a grab for Natasha's chicken breast. Without looking away from Sam and Bucky's antics, Natasha grabbed his wrist and in one fluid movement had it pinned in an awkward position behind his back.

" 'Tasha!" Clint squeaked, gasping at the shock and pain from his now immovable limb.

Natasha smiled sweetly at him, not breaking eye contact as she snatched a clementine from his plate with her other hand, whipped out a knife from God knows where, and in one fluid movement stabbed it right in the middle. Clint stared at the dripping fruit and knife that was now embedded into the table with wide eyes.

"Try that again, Barton, and that'll be you."

His wrist was released and he rubbed it with a pout on his face, scooting away from Natasha with a soiled expression. Natasha looked indifferent and had already returned to her food.

"But Bucky stole mine!" Sam protested, rubbing his hand where it had been slapped off of Tony's roll mountain.

"And how does that make you feel?" enquired Bucky with a completely straight face.

"I swear to god, Barnes. I will put on the suit right now and drop you into the Atlantic," Sam hissed

Bucky pretended not to hear and just continued innocently picking at his beans. Steve looked like he was ready to bang their heads together.

"Seriously, you two? Keep acting like kids and you might as well leave the table" Steve groused.

"So, you got detention," Peter intoned. Steve flushed immediately and Tony laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair.

Rhodey looked like he was going to be sick watching Thor go at his food with such vigor. A small, but quickly growing pile of bones were being rapidly placed onto the edge of Thor's plate. As he looked at his bone pyramid, Thor laughed heartily and a small strike of lightning flew from his fingers, almost taking Bruce's eyebrows off. The older men met each other's eyes with a weariness that clearly stated _I'm too old for this shit._

Somehow, during all this, Natasha and Bucky were now arguing across the table in heated Russian. Sam, seeing an opening for revenge, was picking magnets off of the fridge behind him with his eyes still looking straight ahead, clearly spelling out something on his distracted frenemies arm with the use of Redwing. Peter, with his enhanced eyesight and a good angle, peaked over the side of the table and held back a snort as he read the " **bucky suckz** " spelled out in multicolored lowercase letters. _Tasteful_ , he thought, appreciatively.

Peter sat back and watched with a small, indulgent smile on his face. For all of the chaos and all of their quirks, they were a family. He had heard similar stories from the kids at school about crazy dinners, thanksgivings, and huge family gatherings. He had listened with a saddened interest as he heard his peers talk about experiences he thought impossible for himself to have. If anyone had told him he would have a family again…. well, he wouldn't have believed it. But here he was. In the biggest, craziest family there had ever been.

Tony caught his eye from across the table, lightly kicking his foot under the table with a twinkle in his eye. Peter beamed back softly, returning his gaze to the Russian screaming match in front of him.

Yeah, this was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DON'T FORGET TO JOIN THE DISCORD 
> 
> https://discord.gg/DmrEpra


	9. Parker Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe he's not meant to be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got such a warm reception on the Steve and Bucky chapter but nothing on the last one which is weird to me because I LIKED the last chapter lmao
> 
> Review please i work so hard on these :(
> 
> THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/DmrEpra

For a change, Tony took the elevator down with Peter, instead of saying goodbye to him in the lab. Peter, while confused, was happy for the company, grinning up at his mentor as Tony scrolled through his Starkpad.

"Thanks for working on my suit today, Mr. Stark! "

Tony looked at him, eyebrows raised but face stoic and sarcastic.

"I don't want to make a habit of pulling bullets out of my intern. Hopefully, the reinforcements will help but I'm adding new protocols and upgrades as we speak," the man replied dryly, tapping a few more times on the screen.

"Cool…" Peter murmured, reverently. Tony's lips quirked but he pretended he hadn't heard and kept his eyes on the screen.

"Speaking of suits. You're invited to my wedding. Do you own any? Or do you want to go shopping with Happy?"

Peter froze from where he had been bouncing slightly on the spot.

"I-I'm invited? To your wedding?"

Of course, you are. May is as well," Tony replied easily, smiling gently, eyes still set on his screen. "But that didn't answer the question."

A light blush spread over Peter's cheeks.

"I've never been to a wedding before!" He exclaimed excitedly. Then, he sobered up a little. "Oh, it's going to be fancy isn't it?" He hummed, letting himself ponder aloud. "I mean…. I do own a nice suit. But… usually, when I pull out that suit it's for...uh.. funerals.. and stuff. That's my Parker luck…" Peter's eyes were distant and tight, misting over with dull, painful mourning. Suddenly his head snapped up and his eyes cleared.. "Not that any of this matters! Sorry, I'm rambling.." He cut himself off, cheeks red and eyes trained on the floor.

Tony's eyes were raised from his tablet, filled with a thinly-veiled mixture of alarm and concern as he watched his mentee struggle to keep his memories at bay. Peter's eyes remained firmly on the floor.

"It's your wedding! That's awesome." Peter continued. The elevator dinged and Peter almost fell out in his haste to remove himself from the situation. "Oh, look! This is me! Anyway, thank you, Mr. Stark! May will be super excited when she hears, I-"

"Pete, hold on." Tony pressed a button inside the elevator, making it hold as he turned his eyes to the boy. Peter's own eyes rose to meet his, wide and mortified at his own motor mouth.

"Yeah?"

Tony gripped the Starkpad in one hand and pushed his other into his pocket, cocking his head at Peter thoughtfully.

"Happy is awful with suits. All fashion, really. How about I take you instead?"

"Y-You? Really? That sounds really cool!"

"Of course me. We'll have you looking wedding-ready in no time Petey, trust me. See ya later!" Tony's small, dark figure retreated into the elevator safely as the elevator doors shut behind him.

Peter stood, frozen in the hallway as all that had just happened sunk in.

_Holy. Shit._

**-5 years later-**

He had cried while putting on the suit that morning.

Now he stood at the mirror, tightening the knot on his tie. When his eyes met the mirror, tears were welling. His cheeks, eyes, and nose were red and puffy. Hot tears spilled over his cheeks when he blinked but he didn't make a sound, just wiped them off angrily and left the room.

The way to the cabin was long, winding, and unbearably painful. Happy and May sat in the front, quietly talking and stealing glances back at him. He ignored them both, turning his gaze back to the window and scrubbing at his eyes as new tears threatened to pour. He was done with crying. It shouldn't be him crying, anyway. He was just some dumb kid. Many of the people who were going to be in attendance had known Tony for decades longer. Tony had had a wife and a kid. A four-year-old girl that Peter hadn't so much as _met_ yet. So much had changed in the last 5 years. So much would never be the same.

When the car finally stopped, Peter jumped out, ignoring the two adults behind him. He needed to hide, to getaway. He needed to find a place where no one could look at him and know what he had done by not snapping himself. _Murderer. My fault._

Peter tried to keep his head down as he paced quickly across the yard but he couldn't quite help catching a glimpse of Steve and Bucky, standing stiffly together on the porch and watching everyone else mill about the yard. The pain and guilt radiating off them was permeating the air, hitting Peter so hard that he felt his own heart snap a little more in response. The two men stood with their shoulders touching, resolute, and obviously deep in thought.

There was Steve, the man who had fought over a decade with Tony by his side. A man who he had shared a deep, conflicted past with. Steve Rogers: the man out of time. Howard Stark had known Steve first and had made sure young Tony knew it. Clearly, Howard had preferred Steve to his own, disobedient little boy. It had taken a long time for Tony to be able to stand looking Steve in the eye, to work through the abandonment and neglect he had suffered by constantly being second-best in his own home. Eventually, the two had nodded grimly at the past and moved forward to form the Avengers. It was not a relationship that stood without incident, but the two bounced off each other, unintentionally making a powerful duo. Steve supplied the black-and-white morals, selflessness, and self-discipline, while Tony supplied the resources, grey areas, and a cynical realism that brought them all back to earth.

Bucky… well. Bucky never got the chance to truly apologize for the pain he had unwillingly caused Tony. He never got to make amends for leaving him an orphan, for leaving him with a huge corporation and massive responsibilities in his young 20's. He never got a chance to prove to Tony that the Winter Soldier wasn't him, and never had been. Tony had died hating him, and that was a burden Bucky would carry forever.

Tony had shared a lot of his story with Peter during long nights at the compound, things that twisted Peter's heart and made it hard to look at either supersoilder. The pain they had burdened Tony with was deep and real. During the last few years, Steve and Tony had worked on reconciliation, while Bucky had stayed far, far away, figuring Tony would rather it that way. Some progress had been made, and from the outside, it looked like things were mending between them. If nothing else, the trio could tolerate each other.

But secretly, under all the forced bravado and confidence Tony had put up, there was mistrust, pain, and an overwhelming sense of betrayal. In that bunker, the two supersoilders had shown no allegiance to him. On the day they had left him there to die, a cord had been cut inside Tony. _Liar. Lair. Liars._

So, while Peter could understand their guilt, he also knew that the responsibility to save Mr. Stark had never rested on their hands. They had rid themselves of that when they had abandoned him in that bunker. No, that responsibility was on Peter, a boy who had always been loyal to Tony's side and who Tony had given a priceless gift to; a family.

He passed the two stiffly, shrinking into himself when he felt their sympathetic gazes burn holes into his back. He quickened his pace as he heard Steve mutter _"poor kid",_ to Bucky, despite being 30 feet away from them.

Sometimes, Peter really cursed the gifts he had been given. He had showcased most of his abilities like an open book, including his enhanced hearing. One thing he hadn't shared with Tony, or anyone, a talent he had thought too inconsequential to mention; was that he could hear heartbeats.

In the rush of the after-battle, his own heartbeat had been drowning his ears in it's frantic, adrenaline-fueled fury. The enemy he had been preoccupied with disintegrated under his hands and he had crossed the battlefield in record-breaking time. He hadn't even noticed anything was wrong until he heard the uneven beats of Tony's heart. He remembered how his knees had almost buckled beneath him as he took in the lifeless eyes and smoking body and how, in a millisecond, his entire being had hollowed out.

_Lubb….Dubb..Lubb…._

He remembered the sound of Tony's last heartbeat and the final, scraping sound of breath passing across his lips. He remembered the sounds of Pepper hyperventilating quietly into her husband's chest and how Cap's heart had skipped a beat as his legs had completely given out beneath him.

He remembered everything because the nightmares wouldn't ever let him forget.

He had failed at the one job he had set out to do: keep Tony safe. He had failed Pepper, Happy Rhodey, and Morgan. Most devastatingly, he had failed Tony. Now, he was dead. Now, he would never kiss his daughter's cheek or hold Pepper's hand or laugh at Rhodey's jokes. He would never see his daughter grow up.

It should have been him. He should have been the one to take that burden, to snap to save everyone's life.

_He should have been the one to die._

A few days after he had been released from the hospital, Rhodey had told Peter what had driven Tony to try again, after all that time. What he heard had made him run to find the nearest toilet.

 _He did it to save you_.

He had ignored Rhodey's yells as he took off, channeling his superspeed as he leaped into the common floor bathroom, locking it behind him as he threw up into the basin. By the time he had finished, tears were already flowing and he was entering a fully-fledged panic attack. As seconds stretched into minutes, he lost the ability to differentiate whether the guttural noises coming out of his throat were screams or sobs as he continued to gasp for breath. _No, no, no. Not again. I can't do this again. I can't be the reason for more death. I can't. I'm sorry, Tony. I'm sorry. You should have left me dead I'm so sorry…._ At one point someone, (or maybe it was a few people?) began knocking furiously on the door. The noise had gone straight into the depths of his skull, sending tendrils of pain into every corner of his mind. He had pounded his head on the ground against the noise and when the door was suddenly ripped off its hinges, he had screamed. He had screamed over and over again, throwing his head into the floor as hard as he could. The voices above him had been panicked, moving quickly around the small space. A large hand had slipped between his forehead and the ground and an iron fist curled around his bicep, pulling his arms to his chest. He had panicked when he lost contact with the one thing grounding him and he had struggled, hand flying out and meeting the wall of the bathroom. His hand had gone right through. Blood, hot, thick, and very much real, had started welling between his fingers in small rivers, quickly forming a small puddle on the bathroom floor.

The sight of blood had only served to amplify the panic within the room. The iron grip returned and had pulled him back further, down and down until he was propped against a huge chest. A warmer hand curled his other arm into his torso, effectively trapping him. Two other, bigger hands curled around his ankles, locking them in place. He remembered bucking against the grip, crying out. That had gotten the attention of the man he was laying against and a low, steady, undertone of noise, (maybe words, he wasn't sure,) was murmured in his ear.

Franic stomping had come into his range of hearing as yet another figure approached. This time he was sure he wasn't addressed directly. The third man had been panting while he talked quickly to the two. There had been a sudden, sharp pain in his thigh, and then the world had started swirling. He still had his eyes shut up so he was spared watching his surroundings twirl, but he could remember how the tremors running through his body had weakened as his hysterical shrieks became pitiful weeping. The soft voice by his ear continued and by that time he could finally pick out the words.

_"It's alright, kid. It's going to be alright. You have us, I swear you do. Just check out now, alright? It's ok. We've got you, punk."_

When he woke up next he was in the medbay, restrained and sore. When he had asked what was going on, a tight-lipped Steve had informed him that he had been put on suicide watch.

He still scoffed at that idea now. He wasn't trying to _kill himself_ , he just wished he had died.

There was a difference.

Right?

The Lakehouse was crowded as he knew it would be, filled with almost everyone he had met since becoming an Avenger, as well as some unfamiliar faces. On the precipice of the lake, sat a mound of flowers.

Rhodey stood in front of it. As Peter watched, Happy joined him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Peter caught a glimpse of Rhodey's face, watching as his devastated features twisted into a nod of acknowledgment for the man. Steve had left his spot beside Bucky to wander close to the front and Peter stopped behind him. His feet felt frozen to the spot. Everything tuned out as suddenly all he could see was the lake. Distantly, he felt Aunt May gently take ahold of his shoulders, but he didn't acknowledge it.

In his lifetime he had lost his mother and all three of his father figures. Two of those people had died because of him. He himself had died and come back, only to be more miserable than when he had left. Now he was at his 3rd family funeral, wearing the suit he was supposed to have worn to Tony's wedding.

Parker luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If ya'll don't review-
> 
> THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/DmrEpra


	10. You weren't kidding, were you kid?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You weren't kidding about Parker Luck, were you kid?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, this chapter was supposed to be posted months ago. A few minutes ago I was scrolling through the bookmarks on this story and "mamamiaherewegoagain" left a really sweet message with her bookmark and it inspired me to post.
> 
> Please leave reviews, ya'll are so sweet and I'm kinda having a rough time rn. Enjoy the chapter :)

**Chapter 10: You weren't kidding about Parker Luck, were you kid?**

" _I lost the kid."_

As Nebula pushed him into Steve's waiting arms, it was the only thing he had thought to say.

Malnutrition, dehydration, exhaustion, and lingering illness swirled around his head, mixing with the guilt, longing, and grief that were once again returning to fill every crevice of his body. Steve had begun dragging him slowly across the field, and he vaguely registered that they weren't alone. It didn't matter, there was only one person he was looking for. One look at Pepper's beautiful face confirmed the last question keeping him conscious. With the knowledge that she was alive, his legs gave out.

The darkness was a relief.

…..

He woke up screaming, as he always did nowadays.

Pepper was by his side at once, frantic with worry, her eyes blown wide and hair rumbled. She pulled at his frantic arms until his body realized where it was and stopped straining against itself. _I'm not on Titan. I'm not. I'm not. I'm here. I'm here._

 _What was that?!_ Her eyes screamed, but one look at his face told her to not press the issue. Tony clenched his jaw as his lips began to tremble traitorously. He turned his face to the ceiling and tried to ignore the blurring of his vision. He felt her trembling fingers graze his arm, gentle and questioning. He blinked, and felt her hands move to his face to wipe away his tears.

When he trusted himself enough to speak, he turned to the love of his life and asked; " _May?"_ With teary eyes and a wobbly smile, Pepper just shook her head at him. It probably should have been a relief, not having to explain to Peter's scary aunt why he had allowed her kid to fight and die on a battlefield he shouldn't have stepped foot upon. Instead, he just turned away from Pepper and stared at the ceiling, swallowing harshly against rising nausea.

_All the Parker's were dead._

It took him four days to be released from the medbay, and three more for his stomach to settle enough to be weaned off the IV's. His teammates had gone to space and come back with no hope to share, only the news that the stones were destroyed. There was nothing they could do.

Despite being free to do so, Tony barely left his bed. He felt weak and shitty like his bones had brittled and his brain had rotted. He tolerated the presence of Rhodey and Pepper, but when Steve came in he hurled an alarm clock at his head. Deep down, he knew that Steve was hurting too, that he had also lost someone very close to him. He knew Steve was trying to reach out to him, so they could share their pain. Unfortunately for him, Tony wasn't like Steve. He didn't want to talk about or rationalize it. He was a genius, he knew there was nothing Steve could do, nothing anyone could say, to make everything better.

" _Tony, I-"_

" _No! You lost your chance to talk when you broke your promise! Again!"_

" _That's not fair."_

" _Yeah, well, you know what's not fair Cap? That there are families broken apart. Bloodlines wiped out. Children, dead. That's what's not fair."_

" _We'll figure something out. We always do. We'll find a way to fix this."_

" _Yeah? Who's the "we", Cap? Last time I checked, you don't understand quantum physics! There is nothing we can do. No! Correction! There's nothing_ I _can do!"_

" _Tony, please. Come join the team. We need to make a plan here. Life doesn't just end because you lose someone."_

" _...Get_ _ **the fuck**_ _out."_

Tony stopped talking after that. He chewed the bread he was given and sipped the water pushed into his hand but otherwise ignored the people around him. Eventually, he gave FRIDAY the order to lock everyone out. Even Pepper. He was so sick of the pitying looks and worried glances.

His lab, for once, held no interest. He couldn't build his way out of this one. He, Tony Stark, the most proficient mechanic on all of planet fucking earth, could not fix this one. When he closed his eyes, visions of a world on fire met him there. People he loved, covered in blood. Whispered voices reminding him that he should have done more. Now, a new voice joined them, swirling the sounds into a violent, deafening crescendo.

" _Please, sir, I don't want to go, I don't want to go."_

The words of a terrified, dying child that Tony had brought into _yet another_ warzone.

His stomach turned and he rolled over quickly, leaning over his bed rails to retch. Acid burned up his throat but there was nothing to expel. He curled over the corner of the bed, helpless as nausea overtook him. Eventually, his stomach released him and he fell back onto the bed, panting. He pointedly avoided looking at his shaking hands, knowing that all he would see was the hallucinated ashes and blood of his child. _His child. Fuck._ Pepper was pregnant. They had been talking about parenthood seriously over the last few months but now…..now he wasn't sure if he could bear it. Looking into the face of someone he loved with his entire being and knowing that they could die under his hands? The thought devastated him in ways he couldn't comprehend. He had fucked it up with Peter so badly. He wasn't a father. He could never be a father. He was failing his child and she hadn't even been born yet.

His breath caught and before he knew it, he was crying against the mattress. It squeaked in protest as the force of his body shaking rocked the entire frame. _I can't do this. I can't be a father. I won't be able to get my shit together before the baby comes. I'm failing Pepper, I'm failing the baby, fuck, I've already failed Peter._

He had dragged Peter into his mess, introduced him into a world he wasn't ready for. People around Tony got hurt. Eventually, he knew that his demons would catch up with him and he would pay for every mistake he had ever made. He knew that and had made peace with it. He had never figured that Peter would be the one to pay _his_ prices. He had unintentionally dragged the boy into the crossfires of his misfortune.

_People like me? They don't get a happy ending._

It had been his job to protect Peter. He had failed at the one job he was burdened with as a mentor. Tony wished there was a way to reverse what had been done. He wished there was a way for him to take Peter's place. Peter was young, incredibly intelligent, and pure. He had never done wrong by anyone. Tony…..well, Tony HAD done wrong in his life. He had made mistakes, caused pain, and done wrong by the people he loved. What did Tony have to offer anyone, except for impending retirement?

" _If you die, I feel like that's on me."_

Out of the two of them, luck had chosen Peter. Peter had been one of the 50%.

_Death doesn't discriminate, between the sinners, and the saints._

_It takes._

_And it takes._

_And it takes._

….

The funeral was small.

Neither of the Parker's had had any remaining family to call, no one left to grieve the loss of an entire bloodline. Even Peter's friends had passed.

It wasn't even officially known that they were gone.

With a couple millions deaths suddenly occurring worldwide, traditional funerals had been all but cancelled. The deceased were honoured upon an impersonal grey slab of slate, hundreds of names to one side.

Well, that was _beyond_ unacceptable.

He invited the remaining Avengers to the Lakehouse for the ceremony. Repurposing the back garden had taken ages, but at least it had been a distraction. Pepper, in her pregnant state, couldn't do much except sit on the porch and watch him, hand rubbing her stomach.

Everyone came to the gathering except for Clint, who wasn't talking to anyone, not even Natasha. A tight-lipped shake from her told him all Tony needed to know.

Small, engraved stone's littered the yard. _Wanda Maximoff. Peter Parker. Bucky Barnes. Stephen Strange. Sam Wilson. Loki Odinson. May Parker._ Framing the stones was a light splattering of flowers.

No one spoke. Whether that was a sign of respect or a sign of speechlessness, Tony wasn't sure. Natasha, Steve, Rhodey, Bruce, and Thor stood in front of their signs of failure with gritted teeth and bated breath. Pepper left her spot on the porch to link arms with Tony. For a while, they all stood side by side, as if somehow, together, they could wade off the oncoming grief that was about to tear them all down the middle. After a while, the small group dispersed to pay their individual respects. Tony remained by Peter and May while Steve made his way to the other side of the yard. The others settled somewhere in between.

As the day started setting over the mountains, people began to quietly make their exits. Steve was the last to leave, standing up and reaching into his pocket to retrieve a small necklace with a hanging tag. _Dogtags._ He draped it over the small slab of stone in front of him and stood back. With a red-rimmed nod, he turned and left the yard.

**James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes**

_**I had just got you back** _

Tony returned his gaze back to the stones in front of him. He had taken the liberty of adding Ben, Mary, and Richard Parker to his land of the fallen. He figured May and Peter would have wanted it that way.

**Peter Benjamin Parker**

_**The world wasn't worthy of you** _

His heart constricted again, lungs coiling like a snake in his chest. With a final squeeze, Pepper gave him a small smile and retreated to the house, leaving him alone in the field. Cold air coiled around his bare arms but he barely had the mind to shiver. His insides felt hollowed out and lined with acid.

There was nothing left of the Parker's except for the small field of stone around him. Peter's memory was buried next to his parents, reconnected at last. May and Ben were reunited next to them, angled towards the trio proudly. Belatedly, Tony realized that this was the closest the family had gotten to a family gathering since Peter had been born.

_Fuck._

Tony felt his eyes fill and this time he didn't bother trying to stop the tears as they came, spilling down his cheeks and dropping onto the cold stone of the fallen avenger. He fell to one knee, a choked noise that was half-hysterical laugh, half sob escaped him as it all sank in.

_Oh, Peter._

Peter had given everything to the world, only to be repaid with death, pain, and loss. The first time Tony met Peter he had known he was someone special. Peter wasn't doing what he was doing for fame or redemption. There was no motive there except for an innate need to help a world that had chewed him up and spit him out. There was no doubt in Tony's mind that Peter was the best of all of them.

He had lost his parents as a toddler, his uncle as a young teen, and had died trying to save the world. He had never even had the chance to tell his aunt goodbye.

_I get it now, buddy. I know what you meant. You didn't deserve this Peter, neither did your family._

Parker Luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A have a half-finished chapter that's pure crack for the next chapter, so look forward to another complete 360 in tone lmao
> 
> Please leave a review
> 
> Here's the discord!!!! : https://discord.gg/DmrEpra

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave suggestions! Please Review!


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